The Other Pond Girl
by rogue-kaya
Summary: When River calls The Doctor, Amy and Rory to an abandoned space station, River hands Amy an unnamed baby with the warning to keep running, and keep it safe. Now the race is on to find out the baby's identity and just who River was helping her escape from.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story takes place after Series 6 and the Christmas Special (which was set in 2013), a little ways down the line, so Amy and Rory have taken up travelling with the Doctor again.

Reviews are lovely, and unlike Idris, I really don't bite, so let me know what you think!

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><p>Amy awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. The nightmare lingered in her mind, and for a moment, she was afraid that she was still trapped on Demon's Run. But there were no sterile white walls surrounding her here, just a peaceful dim glow and the soft whirring of the Tardis as she flew. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, and looked over at Rory, who was sleeping soundly on. She smiled at the adorkable blank look on his face, and leaned over to softly kiss him. She smiled at him, and climbed out of bed, wrapping her dressing gown around her as she left their room.<p>

She went down the corridors and walkways towards the console room, fluffing her hair into a presentable state when she caught sight of herself in one of the polished metal wall panels. Before she even entered the room, she could hear the Doctor running about, muttering to himself as his hands flew over the controls. He skidded along to another section of the controls, spun around and hit what to her looked like a completely entirely random button.

"Voice interface activated," said a smooth voice, and both the Doctor and Amy turned to see a perfect projection of River Song.

"No, I don't want to speak to you right now," the Doctor muttered to the interface, searching for a way to switch it off.

Amy just stared at the exact replication of her daughter. _Her daughter_. River Song, a grown woman. She still couldn't quite get her head around it, wasn't sure she ever would, but right now, the sight of River made her want to cry. She walked slowly towards the hologram, wanting to make sure that the memory she had of her daughter was still correct, but before she got there, the hologram flickered and disappeared. She couldn't help but feel bereft as River once again disappeared.

It was then that the Doctor looked up from the controls, and saw her standing there. The half-formed smile on his face dropped as he saw her expression. "What's wrong? What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked, concerned.

"Couldn't sleep." She just about managed to get the words out without choking on the lump in her throat.

"Not the nightmares again?" the Doctor asked as he dashed over to her, and she nodded. His expression changed to one of sympathy. "If Rory were here, would he give me permission to hug?"

"He'd better, 'cause I damn well need one," Amy said. The Doctor wrapped her up in his arms, and she clung to him as he gently rocked her and stroked her hair.

"It's alright, it was only a dream."

"Yeah, but it happened. Demon's Run. It happened, and I couldn't stop it."

"I know."

"I didn't know any of it was happening, and then I gave birth and I held my baby in my arms. And they took her away, Doctor."

"I'm so sorry. But you know who she grew up to be. You know she's okay."

"But I want the baby back. One minute I didn't know anything about it, then I had her, and then she was gone. That's too much, too much to deal with. Can't we go and look for her?"

"Oh, Amy, I did. There's no way we can get her back now."

"Why not? Time can be rewritten, that's what you're always saying, isn't it?"

"It can be, but at what cost?" the Doctor asked softly, still holding onto her. "Time can be rewritten, but there are consequences. If we were to get River back, baby River, then she'd never have the chance to become the woman we know she is now. Without everything that happened to her, she wouldn't be that. It would destroy the River that we know now. You don't want that, do you?"

"No," Amy admitted with a sigh. "But is it wrong that I want her back?"

"I'd be more worried if you didn't," the Doctor said soothingly.

Amy nodded, and held him tighter for a moment before relinquishing her hold as he did the same.

"So what were you doing?" Amy asked, deliberately changing the subject as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dressing gown.

"Tuning her up," the Doctor replied, dancing back over to the controls and adjusting them more. When the Tardis made a grinding noise, he pulled a face and put them back.

"While we're flying? Doctor, are you sure that's a good idea."

"Of course it is," he replied, looking offended. "Can't tell what I'm doing if I can't see the results." He strode over to more controls, and flicked a switch, which made the Tardis sound much happier, and he grinned. "Say hello to Sexy, Amy!"

Amy looked self conscious, and stayed quiet.

"Come on! She likes it when people talk to her. Say 'Hello, Sexy!'"

Amy stared at him, but he only looked back at her expectantly. Finally, she gave in, and said quietly. "Hello, Sexy."

"There! That wasn't so hard!"

There was a quiet hum and a light next to one of the couches dotted around the console came on.

"What was that?" Amy asked suspiciously.

"She turned on one of the seat heaters for you," the Doctor said. "She likes you now, wants to take care of you."

"Alright…Thanks, Sexy," Amy said quietly.

"Go and lie down," the Doctor said, nodding to the couch.

"I can't sleep, Doctor, that's why I'm here, remember?"

"Go and lie down, Pond. Get some rest," he said, making it sound like an order.

"Fine," Amy muttered, settling down on the couch, which was already pleasantly warm. "But we both know I'm not going to get any sleep."

But an hour later, she was sound asleep, sprawled comfortably on the couch.

The Doctor carried on doing the things that the Doctor does, and for quite some time there was just him, the rumbling of the Tardis, and the sleeping Amelia Pond.

"Amy?" Rory's voice drifted down one of the corridors, making the Doctor look up. "Amy?" he said again, louder this time. The Doctor looked towards the entrance to the console room, but couldn't shout out for Rory in case he woke Amy. Mind you, the way Rory was saying her name louder with each repeat – "Amy!" – she might get woken up anyway.

Rory poked his head round the door and opened his mouth, but before he could shout, he saw the Doctor, who had his finger pressed tightly to his lips.

"Shhh," the Doctor whispered, then pointed to where Amy lay asleep. "She's over there. She's fine."

Rory followed the point, and relief washed over his features as he saw his wife, curled up asleep. He went over to Amy, his hand hovering over her as he made sure that she was okay. When he was happy, he walked quietly over to the Doctor, who was still flipping levers and pressing buttons in a seemingly random pattern.

"Why is she in here?" Rory whispered.

"Bad dreams," the Doctor said, without taking his gaze from the monitor. "Demon's Run."

"Oh," Rory's face fell. "Why didn't she talk to me?"

"I don't think she wanted to wake you up," the Doctor replied, but Rory still didn't look happy. "She says you have a cute face when you're asleep."

"She does?" Rory asked hopefully.

The Doctor gave a wide smile. "Yes, she does. Now, tell me Rory Pond, what's woken you up in the middle of the night?"

Rory shrugged. "I just woke up. Amy wasn't there, and she didn't come back, so…"

"So you panicked," the Doctor said knowingly.

Rory shook his head, then shrugged, then nodded. "A little."

"You're safe in the Tardis, both of you," the Doctor said assuredly, then his resolve wavered. "Mostly."

"Are we in danger now?"

"No. No! Of course not. If we were in danger, do you think your wife would be sleeping?"

Rory nodded his head to the side. "Point."

Their gazes drifted towards Amy, who now had a look of utter peace on her features.

"I still don't think I quite understand how hard it is for her," Rory said softly. "I only held Melody once. Amy gave birth to her, had her for three weeks. And all that time, she knew her baby was going to get taken away."

"No she didn't," the Doctor said sadly. "She thought I would come and rescue them both, because that was what I promised her. I'm sorry, Rory, I really am."

Rory nodded, but couldn't think of the right words to say. In truth, it wasn't the Doctor's fault. Because if they were going to save her, then River as they knew her would never have existed, so it was a self defeating point. At least that was the way he wanted to think about it. "It wasn't your fault."

"Thank you, for thinking that anyway."

Rory turned his earnest eyes on the Doctor, those big, meaningful, bright eyes. "It wasn't your fault," he said emphatically. "It was Madame Kovarian's. Let's get that into perspective."

The Doctor smiled. "Thank you, Rory. Now, you should go back to bed, get more sleep. Take Amy with you; she's fast asleep now, but I don't want to wake her later."

Rory nodded, and patted the Doctor's shoulder. He went over to Amy, and gently scooped her up. She mumbled something in her sleep, but didn't wake as Rory carried her back to bed.

When she woke in the morning, she frowned up at the ceiling, sure that when she had fallen asleep, she had been in a different place. Rory was already up and about in the room.

"Was last night a dream?" she asked, still frowning.

"Nope. You fell asleep in the console room. I carried you back."

"Thank you, loving husband who stops me from waking up with cramps."

"You're welcome, wife who falls asleep in strange places."

Amy smiled.

They were all in the console room later that day, when suddenly the Tardis started the whirring vworping noise that meant it was landing.

"No, no, no! I didn't tell you to do that!" the Doctor said, punching some buttons in the hopes of stopping the process.

"Where-when are we?" Amy asked, looking at the monitors.

"Not sure, but we didn't want to be here."

"Where did we want to be?" Rory asked.

"Not sure, but I didn't decided to land here."

Suddenly the vworping stopped, but it was several seconds before there was a slight shudder and a chime ; the Tardis had landed herself. With the brakes off.

"Well thank you, that was very helpful," the Doctor said. "Can you at least tell me where and when we are?" The monitors flashed, and some information in Gallifreyan came up. "Alright, 31st century, spaceship. Capable of supporting human life, but will only permit the female of the species. The female?"

Amy smiled smugly.

"Why?" Rory asked.

"Possibly it was carrying female passengers who wanted to protect themselves. Or maybe they just really didn't like men."

"Isn't the more important question 'Why are we here?'" Amy asked.

"Quite possibly, yes. Why are we here, Sexy?"

The monitor went blank, and then a moment later, an external video feed was showing. No one was there, just a white wall. And on the wall, written in big red lipstick letters, was a message.

_Hello, Sweetie._

And in smaller writing, near a door, was an arrow pointing to the door, and the words '_Through here, Mummy_."

Amy's eyes lit up. "River."

She was down the steps and to the front door before the Doctor could catch up to her, and he slid in front of her, blocking the exit.

"Out of the way, please?" Amy asked hurriedly.

"Let me scan the ship once more," the Doctor said firmly, not moving. "Let me make sure that it's safe for you, because we can't come with you."

"River wouldn't lead me out there if it wasn't safe," Amy argued.

"Who's to say that River is out there?"

"That's her handwriting!"

"Pond, wait," the Doctor ordered, and Amy looked to Rory for help.

"Just let him scan the ship again," Rory said, and while Amy glared at him, the Doctor gave a brilliant smile.

"Thank you, Centurion," the Doctor said, dashing back up to the console while Amy leaned impatiently against the Tardis' doors. The Doctor typed in a command on the console, and the screen flashed and bleeped. A moment later, the display flashed a green tick, and listed the data gathered about the ship.

"Can I go now?"

"There's two life forms on the ship," the Doctor mused.

"Yeah, River and her friend," Amy shrugged.

"It might not be a friend."

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna leave without seeing that River's okay," Amy said stubbornly. "And I really want to go see her."

"Fine," the Doctor sighed. He picked up something as he came flying down the steps, and Amy saw that it was a little pin brooch, which he fixed to her jacket. "Miniature camera, recorder, communicator, tracker. Just in case," he said, affectionately brushing Amy's hair out of her face.

"Thank you," she said quietly, sincerely.

Rory gave her a hug, which she returned. "Try and talk her into coming back with us?"

"Of course I will," Amy replied, patting his back before pulling away. "Okay, off to find my daughter."

She pushed open the door of the Tardis, and let it drift close behind her. The space ship was mostly white, so much so that it reminded her too much of the rooms on Demon's Run, and she had to make sure that it was in fact a different ship. She ran her fingers along the wall which held River's message to her, and pushed through the door. It led to another corridor, but it was empty. Somehow she'd been expecting River to just be standing the other side of it, waiting.

"River?" Amy called out quietly as she moved down the corridor, but there was no reply. When she reached the other end of the corridor, she found a dot of red on the door, and knew that she was at least still following a trail. After every door with a red dot that she opened, Amy's heart fell when River wasn't there.

Finally she came to a door with a red star marked on it. This has to be it, she thought to herself, taking a deep breath before pushing open the door. And there she was, River Song, standing at a computer display, punching in commands. River looked up as she heard the door close, and gave a wide smile.

Amy grinned, and ran over to River, wrapping her arms around her in a big hug. River giggled.

"I knew you'd come if I asked."

"Of course I did," Amy said, squeezing her just a little bit tighter before letting her go. "Is everything alright?"

River's face turned serious. "I'm fine, but we don't have much time. I've rigged this station to blow as soon as we're both off it."

"What's going on?" Amy asked, worry rising in her voice.

"I don't have time to tell it all to you now; if we don't leave very, very soon, they'll be coming after us. If we leave fast and blow up the station, they won't have any trails to follow, and we'll all be safe."

"Come on then, let's go. The Tardis is right back here."

"I can't come with you," River said with a somewhat sad smile. "I have to use an escape pod to make another trail in case they can track us after this. "What I need you to do is take this," she said, bending down and carefully picking a bundle up off the floor, which she laid into Amy's arms. "Very precious, very delicate, and needs to be off this space station _now_."

"River-"

"We don't have time. Just keep this safe, and go far away. Go now. I promise I'll catch up to you soon."

Amy looked desperately at River's calm, assured expression. There was no arguing with her; she always knew so much more, and Amy trusted her enough to know that if River was saying they needed to leave, then that was what they needed to do.

"You'd better, otherwise you're grounded," Amy replied, only half joking.

River gave an indulgent laugh. "Oh Mummy, prisons couldn't hold me."

"No, but none of those were minded by the Scottish. Typical teenager," she rolled her eyes, and River smiled. "Just be safe, alright? Call us if you need us."

"I'll see you very soon," River promised.

Amy nodded, and then hugged her daughter once more, carefully cradling the precious bundle between them. They looked at each other for a moment, and Amy turned and ran back the way she'd come. Down one white corridor, then another, carefully balancing the bundle that River had given her in her arms.

Finally, after running down so many identical white corridors, Amy arrived back where she'd started, and she slammed through the Tardis doors to see Rory with his head in his hands, before he looked up and relief washed over his features.

"Why haven't you been answering us?" he asked, rushing over to make sure she was unhurt.

"Because you haven't been calling me," Amy answered.

"We have – the communication link must be broken," the Doctor said, hopping down the steps to take the brooch off of Amy's jacket. "What have you got there, Pond?" he asked gesturing to the bundle that she was protectively cradling.

"River said it's precious, very delicate, and has to leave, _now_," Amy replied.

"Why isn't River with you?" Rory asked, disappointment in his voice.

"She said she had to leave separately, otherwise 'they'd' have more chance of finding us," she replied quickly. Both of the men opened their mouths to ask questions, but she cut them off. "Look, you know as much as I do. This is one of those times when we're gonna have to just trust River."

"I hate those times," the Doctor muttered, then turned to run back to the console. "Did she say where we should go?"

"No, just away, but Doctor, I want to make sure she gets away before we leave completely. She's rigged the ship to blow once everyone's left."

"_She's rigged the ship to blow?_" Rory repeated is disbelief.

"Proud of your daughter yet?" Amy asked.

"Immensely," Rory replied, and the Doctor grinned at the note of sarcasm in his voice.

"Okay, leaving now, going a mile away from the ship. We'll be able to see River's transport from there," the Doctor said, tapping one final key, and the vworping sound started up once more. Amy waited until the Tardis had stabilised before throwing open the doors, giving them a wide screen view of the spaceship, hanging in the blackness a mile away.

"Come on, come on," Amy muttered under her breath, counting the seconds until at last she saw a plume of bright white light stream away from the spaceship, a white shuttle at its head. She smiled widely.

The shuttle banked, and came towards the Tardis, close enough for Amy and Rory to see River piloting it, waving at the, a self assured smile on her face. They waved back, and River flew away, engaging the light drive and disappearing at the speed of light. There was a single second of peace before the blackness of space was lit up by a chain of massive explosions that rippled through the space station. It took all of five seconds before the Tardis started shuddering and lurching. Amy slammed the doors closed to stop them from falling right out of the Tardis, and the Doctor shouted from above.

"Extra pair of hands needed now!"

"You go," Amy said to Rory, still cradling the bundle River had given her. Rory nodded once, then scrambled to his feet, lurching about with the ship as he struggled up the stairs. The Doctor showed Rory which buttons and levers needed holding, and Rory stood with them while the Doctor ran around, bringing the Tardis back under control and flying her out of the volatile time zone. They began to stabilise, the Tardis no longer lurching about. Amy stood, and with her back to the others, she unwrapped the bundle enough to see what was inside the many thick layers of fabric.

"Oi, Pond! What's in that blanket that's so important?"

Amy turned to face them, her expression a mixture of fear, awe and confusion. "It's a baby."

Rory gave a flat '_What?_', while the Doctor bounded down the stairs, a look of doubt on his face.

"No really, it's a baby," Amy said, tilting the bundle so the Doctor could see the tiny human face looking out.

His face turned from furrowed brows into a beaming smile. "Hello, baby human!" he exclaimed, shaking the tiny hand that had wriggled free of the layers of blankets.

"Um…why did River give you a baby?" Rory asked, coming towards them with a bit more trepidation.

"I don't know, she didn't even say what it was," Amy said, shifting her hold on the baby bundle so it would be more comfortable.

"Was River protecting you?" the Doctor cooed, making the baby smile. "Who's after you then, little girl?"

"You can speak baby, right?" Amy asked. "Ask her who her mother is."

"She's too young," the Doctor said softly. "Only a few days old; she doesn't even know what the concept of a mother is."

"Your mother is the person you came from, the person who takes care of you," Amy explained to the baby.

"Oh, Amy, this baby hasn't got a concept of anything," the Doctor said softly. "She just keeps saying bright light, smelly blankets and big hair. Big hair! That's River."

"So she can't tell us where she comes from?"

"No. I don't think this baby's ever even been spoken to; she's just communicating in pictures and impressions, not words. But don't worry baby, we are all very talkative around here!"

"What are we going to do with her?" Amy asked, rocking the baby gently.

"We're going to take care of her for now, and just trust that River knows what she's doing."

"Do we even have any baby stuff on the Tardis?" Rory asked.

"We have a cot," the Doctor said brightly.

"Babies need a lot more than that," Rory said.

"Then it's time to go shopping!"


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Welcome to Act Two! Now can get get to the really fun part of the story.

As I said before, reviews are lovely, and I would really love to hear from you.

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><p>An hour later, the Doctor, Rory and Amy were walking around a futuristic super market, with a trolley full of baby-centric items, not to mention holding the baby herself. Bottles, formula, clothes, nappies, rattles, everything they could think of that a baby might need. They'd brought some blankets first, because she was right; they were a bit funny smelling. They must have been all River had to hide her in. Amy kept wondering what possible reason there could have been for her daughter to steal away a child, but she trusted that it was a good reason. She just hoped they could get the baby back to her mother as quickly as possible once the danger to the baby had passed. That thought made her indescribably uncomfortable, because she had never gotten her baby back once she had been stolen. What if they were doing the same thing to someone else?<p>

She kept her thoughts to herself, not least of all because they couldn't openly talk about the fact that the baby they were walking around with wasn't theirs.

They checked out by walking through a huge light-up arc, which the Doctor explained scanned the barcodes on all the products simultaneously – an invention which Earth would have very soon.

There was almost too much shopping for them to carry back to the Tardis, and then they had to find room for all the baby accessories. Amy laid the baby down in the cot, but every time she disappeared from sight, the little girl would start to cry. Rory and the Doctor both tried picking her up, but she would continue to cry until Amy held her again. Only when she fell asleep for a short time was Amy allowed to leave the room. And she knew when the baby woke up again, because there were sudden shouts of 'Amy!' echoing through the Tardis. It reminded her of how the Doctor and Rory would shout for each other whenever she 'had an emotion'.

It was getting late for Amy and Rory, and still the baby hadn't fallen properly asleep. Amy was perched on the edge of the bed, rocking the baby softly. Rory was quietly arranging the baby's things in the corner when the Doctor poked his head around the door.

"All quiet on the baby front yet?"

In reply, the baby gurgled, and Amy couldn't help but smile. "No."

The Doctor came over and sat next to Amy, looking at the baby over her shoulder. "Come on, little baby. Even the adults are starting to get tired. You must be tired by now."

The baby cooed.

"Oh," the Doctor said.

"What? What did she say?" Amy asked.

"She thinks you're her mother."

"What?" Amy repeated. "No, no sweetie, I'm not your mummy."

"But you are the one taking care of her," the Doctor pointed out.

"I know, baby, but that doesn't make me your mummy. You have a mummy, but it's not me. We are going to find her for you though."

Amy's voice had begun to shake, and Rory came and sat on her other side, laying a hand on her back.

"I'm going to take care of you for now, until we find your mummy," Amy said, and the baby made a stubborn sounding noise. "What did she say?"

"Nothing."

"_Doctor…_"

The Doctor sighed and glanced at Rory, who gave a minute shrug. "She said she likes you," he admitted quietly.

"Yeah," Amy sighed. "I like her, too."

When the baby did fall asleep, so did Amy, her hand trailing down out of the bed, resting in the cot beside the tiny little girl.

"We should give her a name," Rory said the next morning, sitting cross legged on the bed with the baby in his arms as Amy brushed her hair.

"We can't give her a name; she might already have one."

"But we can't just call her 'the baby' for however long we're going to be taking care of her. You can't be afraid of it, you know. I am too."

"Afraid of what?"

"Getting attached to her. It's only natural, you know."

"I know," Amy sighed. "But I just keep thinking of her mother and father, somewhere out there, god knows where in time or space, waiting for their daughter to come back. Just like we did."

"But it's not the same though. Someone was working to keep our baby away from us. We're going to work on getting her back to her parents. River at least knows where she came from."

"She didn't even have the time to tell me what kind of trouble or danger the baby was in, she just kept saying that we needed to get out of there fast, otherwise 'they' would come."

"She didn't even elaborate over the ubiquitous 'they'?"

"Nope," Amy came and sat on the bed with them, playing with the baby's hands. "Okay, baby, what are we going to call you?"

They batted names back and forth between them, playing with the sounds of names, eventually settling on Ellinor. When they said it to the baby, she smiled, and they didn't need the Doctor to tell them that she approved.

They went out into the console room together, where the Doctor was checking all the settings.

"Doctor, come and say hi to Ellinor," Amy said.

The Doctor looked up, and they could clearly see the confused look on his face. "Ellinor? Who's Ellinor?" He seemed to realised who they were talking about at the same time as Rory pointed to the baby, and the Doctor's face brightened as he came over. "Hello, Baby Ellinor."

Ellinor pulled a face as the Doctor ruffled her hair, and he suddenly looked affronted.

"What? This? It's a bowtie. Bowties are cool. What is it with humans and their objections to bowties?"

Amy laughed, kissing the baby's head. "That's my girl."

"So, where are we going?"

"Nowhere," The Doctor announced proudly.

Amy looked confused. "But we're still flying, yeah?"

"Yes, of course we are."

"Then what are we doing?"

"Well, I thought that the safest place to be for all of us, especially tiny baby Ellinor, would be just flying for now. We're in the flux vortex."

"Is that safe for her?" Amy asked. "It won't give her a time head?"

The Doctor smiled at her fondly. "She'll have one of those already, if she's going to. As you well know."

Rory stuck up his hand briefly before he spoke. "Don't we kind of need to go somewhere to learn anything about what's going on?"

"I was hoping we could figure it out," the Doctor said brightly.

"But we don't know anything about the situation," Rory pointed out, and the Doctor's face turned a little bit sulky.

"Alright, I was hoping River would call, and tell us what was going on."

Amy gave a short laugh. "River won't call to tell us. She's like a teenager; only calls when she wants a lift."

The Doctor smiled teasingly. "You shouldn't say things like that; you never know when she might be listening in."

They all paused for a moment, looking around, as if expecting River to materialise out of the shadows right there on the Tardis. When of course she didn't, they exchanged glances and giggled.

"Okay!" the Doctor shouted suddenly, leaping off towards the consoles and startling everybody. "Sorry, Ellinor! Rory's right, we should be doing something, going somewhere, learning something. So! If we ask the Tardis to trace Ellinor to where she's been, we might have something, anything. Baby Ellinor, come here, if you please."

Amy obligingly brought the little baby to hold her in front of the monitor the Doctor was gesturing at, glancing at him to make sure she was doing it right. The Doctor nodded, and Amy bounced the baby to keep her happy.

"Is it safe, scanning a baby?" Rory asked hesitantly.

The Doctor looked at him sharply, and then his expression softened when he saw the concern in Rory's eyes. Rory was a nurse, an Earth nurse used to Earth technology. Where he came from, they tended not to scan babies unless absolutely necessary because it could well be dangerous to them.

"Of course it's safe," the Doctor assured him. "I wouldn't do it if it weren't. We don't even know whose baby she is; she could be River's for all I know, so of course I'm going to keep her safe."

Amy suddenly stopped moving at the thought, because if this was her granddaughter in her arms then her timeline had just gotten far, far too weird. "Do you really think she could be River's daughter?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"What hadn't the thought occurred to you?" the Doctor asked absently.

"No."

"It could be…my baby," he said, unable to stop the thought once it had started. He looked at Amy and Rory, who looked just as disturbed by the thought as he did.

"River never mentioned having a daughter," Rory said adamantly.

"She never mentions anything; she's good at that," the Doctor muttered, then said louder, "But ignore that thought!"

"That's gonna be hard now," Amy muttered, kissing Ellinor's head, because she had begun to get restless with all this talk.

"Getting back on track," the Doctor said, punching in commands on the keyboard until a bright blue light swept over Ellinor. He waited a moment until the results appeared onscreen in a long string of digits, which he then typed straight back in as co-ordinates. "Let's see where you came from," he said, stroking Ellinor's head.

The Tardis lurched and wvorped, the landing hard enough to fling all the occupants around and start Ellinor crying. As soon as Amy regained her balance, she was rocking and whispering to the baby, kissing her head to make her feel better. It worked, and soon the cries had settled into little hup-hups.

"Is she alright?" Rory asked, coming to crouch down by Amy, gently stroking Ellinor's head. "Are _you_ alright?"

"I'm fine," Amy replied. "And I think she is."

"I'm sorry, baby human," the Doctor said, as he arrived as well. "I wasn't expecting the Tardis to do that."

"Where are we?" Rory asked as Amy handed him the baby.

"Let's find out," the Doctor said, even as Amy strode to the doors and opened them, a crack at first, and when nothing jumped out at her, she threw them wide open. The vista before her was all greens and greys, forests and mountains, a great wilderness. It was breathtaking in its beauty, and so incredibly untouched by humans. It could have been an uninhabited planet, but there was a certain familiarity to it.

Amy heard the Doctor's voice floating down from the main console. "It's 1241, and we're in…"

"Scotland," Amy finished for him. "We're in Scotland. Aberdeenshire."

"Yes," the Doctor said, coming back towards the door. "How did you know? I mean, you're Scottish, but how did you know exactly where we are?"

"My parents used to bring me here on holidays as a child. Except that forest wasn't there," she said, pointing to a huge patch of green, clinging to the side of the mountain.

"Won't be there," the Doctor corrected. "Seven and a half centuries, some things are going to change."

Amy shot him a glare that said 'I know', and the Doctor held up his hands in mock defence before letting them drop. "It's alright Rory, you can bring out baby Ellinor!"

Rory hesitated just inside the doors to the Tardis.

"Actually, Doctor, I'm not sure that's a great idea," Amy said.

"Why ever not?"

"People in Scotland in the 13th Century? Not so friendly towards the English, actually. I want my best friend and my husband left alive."

"Oh, I can do an excellent Scottish accent," the Doctor answered, proving that he could. "And so can Rory, I'm sure."

"Oh, aye," Rory replied in such a terrible fake accent that it made Amy laugh.

"See Pond? Nothing to worry about," the Doctor said, pleased. "Besides, we need to find out what Ellinor was doing here."

"Fine," Amy relented. "But we're gonna have to dress for the occasion. And Rory's staying here in the Tardis."

"Am not," Rory shot back.

Between them, the Doctor and Rory convinced Amy to let Rory come, though she wasn't completely sold on the plan. They went into the Tardis' massive wardrobe, with Amy flitting off down the women's aisle, and Rory and the Doctor taking the men's side. She ran her fingers along the clothes as they regressed through the centuries, fine and simple cloths all mixed in together, until she reached the ones labelled 'Mid 13th Century Europe'.

She chose a green gown with gold embroidery on the bodice, which came with a matching headdress and veil. With the golden belt still in hand, she made her way back to the front of the wardrobe, where Rory and the Doctor were waiting. For once, the Doctor was the more fashionably dressed of the two, and Rory did not look impressed with his own clothes.

"The Doctor snagged the nice clothes," he grumbled, looking even more ridiculous with his sad face.

"Aww," Amy consoled, giving Rory a hug. "He has to look better than you sometimes, silly."

"Only sometimes?" Rory asked hopefully, his face brightening.

"Very rarely," Amy promised.

"Oi!" the Doctor protested. "You'll want to put that belt on, Pond, otherwise you'll look like…well…a woman of ill repute."

Amy hastily tied the golden braid about her waist, before picking Ellinor up out of the cradle they'd left there. "Do you have any baby clothes, Doctor?"

"Not other than the ones we brought, and those are many centuries too late. We'll have to keep her wrapped in blankets."

"You're sure this is a good idea?" Amy asked, wrapping one of the cot blankets around Ellinor.

In reply, he straightened a bow tie that was no longer there. "All of my ideas are good ideas."

They ventured out of the Tardis, with the Doctor straying ahead a little as Rory stayed glued to Amy's side. Amy cradled Ellinor, holding her tight against her chest, shielding her from the winds that whipped around the hillside, her dark eyes keeping constant watch over her surroundings. The Doctor shared none of her concerns, running ahead a little and then back to them like an overexcited puppy, shouting about the magnificence of it all. He darted back towards them all of a sudden, a questioning look on his face.

"Where exactly are we, Pond? You seem to be pointing us in a very definite direction…which is clever seeing as you're behind me."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Carrying a baby will slow you down."

The Doctor looked at Ellinor. "Don't let her make you think you're the one slowing her down. She's always this slow. And she's having a lazy day."

Ellinor gave a gurgle of laughter as Amy swotted the Doctor.

"We're going towards a castle," Amy said, answering his question at last.

"A castle! I love castles!"

"At least I think we should be, if I remember those holidays right. If not, we're headed towards an empty plot of land."

"I like plots of land, too."

"Are you sure you didn't…spike his tea or anything?" Rory as quietly, and Amy shook her head.

"What's wrong with being happy?" the Doctor asked.

"You just don't seem…concerned with what's going on," Amy replied, choosing his words carefully.

"What's there to be concerned about?" he asked in all seriousness. "We're not in immediate danger, it's a nice day."

"And we are walking around with a baby who's not ours," Amy added.

"Are we sure she's not ours? I mean, could she be River?" Rory asked.

"No," the Doctor said lowly. "She couldn't be. You can't interact with yourself in your own time stream. Much too dangerous. If River had gone and rescued herself, the universe would have ripped itself apart by now. That _would_ make me concerned."

"She's definitely not River," Amy agreed. "River's got a little birthmark between her shoulders."

The Doctor grinned. "I know."

"Too much information!" Amy shouted at him.

"And I might be dressed like a page, but I am still armed," Rory said, pointing to the short sword that hung from his belt.

"Point taken," the Doctor said.

Suddenly, a look of realisation swept over Rory. "That's why you're so happy, isn't it? You think we'll be seeing River again soon?"

The Doctor looked a little smug. "Well, she did say she'd catch up to us soon."

"'Soon' for River doesn't necessarily mean 'soon' for us," Amy said.

"Trust me, she'll be along," the Doctor said confidently, and when the other two looked a little doubtful, he added. "Look, when have you known River Song to instigate an adventure and then miss out on the rest of it?"

Rory nodded, his expression simply saying 'Point'.

"You really think she'll come here?" Amy asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered with comforting certainty. "Now come along, Pond. Lead the way to this castle of yours."

Amy gave a little half curtsey and the Doctor smiled as she led them on their way.

"How far away is this castle?" Rory asked.

"Can't remember exactly," Amy admitted. "A few miles away, in the next valley. I hope."

She led them onwards, until at length they drew close to a road. Well, a wide dirt track, at least. It wound its way off to the horizon in both directions, meandering along the easiest path through the mountains.

"Presumably, this leads to the Castle," the Doctor mused, jumping on the road like he expected it to be made of foam or something other than compacted mud.

"And to that group of calvalry over there," Rory said, pointing West to where a group of riders had just emerged from the forest and were now storming down the road.

"Is this the time to start running?" Amy asked, drawing Ellinor a little closer.

The Doctor squinted at the approaching riders. "Or we could try talking."

"Fine. Just remember your Scottish accent , Doctor. Rory," she trailed off, and then patted his arm. "Don't speak."

They waited by the side of the road as the riders approached. Rory's hand was already resting on the hilt of his sword, the Roman showing through. Amy regarded the approaching people with unveiled suspicion, ready to bolt at any given moment and get Ellinor out of there. The Doctor merely waited, rocking on his heels where he stood.

For a moment, it looked like the company would simply ride straight by them, but as they drew close, the lead horseman looked carefully at them, then drew his horse to a halt. His second in command held up his hand, and the entire company slowed and stopped behind him. Rory stepped protectively in front of Amy, and for Ellinor's sake, she let him.

"Hello!" the Doctor called out in a friendly voice, holding up his hand in a sedate wave.

The lead rider looked confused. "Lord Matthew?"

The Doctor looked behind him, but no, the man was looking right at him, apparently mistaking him for this Lord Matthew.

The rider looked at Rory, and then saw Amy, peeking out at him from behind. "Lady Amelia?"

Amy was unable to stop the surprise from showing for a second before she finally got it under control and simply nodded to the rider, afraid that anything she might actually say would get them into trouble.

"We were not expecting you for several days. I'm afraid Lord Tristram is away on a hunting trip, not due to return until the day you were due to arrive. But you'll still be welcome at his castle, of course," the rider said, looking as startled and confused as Amy was feeling. "And what of your company? We thought you'd be arriving along with your servants. Were are your horses?"

"Ah! The horses!" the Doctor exclaimed. "He wants to know about the horses!"

Amy knew he was stalling for time from the way he looked at them, but she couldn't think of anything helpful to say. "Then you'd better tell him what happened to them."

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking not unlike a goldfish, before Rory mercifully stepped in.

"Our horses became unsettled back on the road and took ill. We carried on, thinking it best that we get the Lady Amelia to her destination as soon as possible," he said, and suddenly it was abundantly clear how he'd survived for two thousand years. And when the rider looked surprised that he had spoken, Rory guessed that he'd been taken for a page and added 'My Lord.'

"Yes!" the Doctor said. "That is exactly what happened. Unsettled horses, and Lady Amelia does not like to spend the night outdoors, do you?"

"Not at all," Amy said, stepping forward a little, and for the first time the rider could see her properly.

"I can see why, My Lady; we had no idea that you had a bairn, else Lord Tristram would have sent his own escort to meet you."

"Quite alright Sir…"

"Sir Trensil," the man answered, bowing his head by way of introduction. "Please, forgive my rudeness; you have taken us quite unaware."

"Not to worry," the Doctor said, smiling. "We have a habit of doing that to people."

Sir Trensil nodded, then called back to his men. "Bring forward the spare horses for Lord Matthew and his wife!"

"His wife?" Rory huffed unhappily, and Amy gave him a poke. She'd rather go along with this than blow their cover for the sake of Rory's pride. The Doctor merely grinned, and Rory made a mental note to tell River about this for payback.

There was the clattering of hooves as two horses were brought forwards, and poor Rory realised he didn't even rank high enough for a horse here. He took the reins of Amy's horse as the Doctor swung up into the saddle of his own. Rory gently took Ellinor as Amy pulled herself up, balancing herself before reaching back down to take Ellinor from Rory.

"You're gonna lead the horse, right?" she asked him in a nervous whisper, and he nodded. He'd tried to teach her how to ride, but they'd better play it safe since Amy was riding with Ellinor.

"Shall we send out a company to retrieve your horses?" Sir Trensil asked, and the Doctor shook his head.

"No, don't worry about that. I expect they'll sort themselves out," he said, though in truth all they would find would be a large blue police box.

Sir Trensil looked unsure, but he didn't argue. Instead he led them onwards down the road. The Doctor looked as happy as anything as he rode along, while Amy was holding tightly to the saddle with one hand, clutching Ellinor with the other as Rory led the horse. They rode on for an hour or so before they came to the castle. It looked so much like Amy remembered, but of course whole rather than ruined, its walls seeming to reach to the sky as they rode underneath the main gateway. Amy couldn't help but let he mouth hang open as she looked around in awe, and it was only a little sigh from Ellinor that reminded her that she was supposed to be in character.

Ellinor was a remarkably quiet baby, she thought as the tiny girl watched the world go by with her large, unfocussed eyes. As for herself, Amy wasn't feeling nearly so settled, and her mind was awash with unanswered questions. Questions that once they were settled in the castle, sealed away in their own rooms, she began to fire away at the Doctor.

"Okay, what on earth is going on?" Amy asked, passing Ellinor to Rory, who started to rock her to sleep.

"It's brilliant!" the Doctor enthused as he fluffed Ellinor's hair. "We've been mistaken for nobles!"

"Yeah, and doesn't that trouble you?" Amy asked, and the Doctor looked unsure as to why it should. "We drop in a place and time zone where there are supposed to be people who just happen to look like us? And, as if that wasn't enough, not only do I look like this woman, but I have her _name_?"

"Amelia Pond! Didn't I always say that your name sounded like a fairy tale? Well, now you're in one!"

"Yeah, but _how_?"

"Oh, I don't know. I don't know everything, you know. I am just a madman with a box. But isn't this brilliant?"

"Brilliant, and puzzling, and worrying," Rory said. "What are we even doing here?"

"Finding out stuff," the Doctor said, running across the room and fiddling with the trinkets on the oak table. "Maybe we'll find out something about Ellinor here – that's why we came after all. And now we want to find out about these people we've been mistaken for, don't we?"

"Yep, but I'm not sure it'll be a good idea to hang around once the real Lord Matthew and Lady Amelia show up," Amy said.

"Right," the Doctor said, pointing at her. "I'll go out tonight and fetch the Tardis, bring her here for when we need to make a quick getaway. In the meantime, Ponds…enjoy yourselves. It's not every day that you get to spend some time in a castle, pretending to be nobility."

"What if we mess it up?" Amy asked.

"We can't. Everyone knows the nobility in any given timeline are completely bonkers anyway, so anything strange you say or do will just be chalked up to us being inbred."

"And that's supposed to be comforting?" Amy asked.

"By the way, Doctor," Rory said. "Don't let it go to your head that you're supposed to be married to her."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Rory the Roman."

"Same goes for you, Amy," he said, jokingly now, and in reply, Amy gave her best wide-eyed innocent look. Which, as it happened, was very convincing.

The hospitality of Scotland in the 14th Century was not at all how Amy had imagined it. They were friendly (her history teachers must have been lying), and, despite the absence of the lord of the castle, extended every courtesy to their guests. Each morning, noon and night, a lavish meal was laid out before them, and the Doctor would amaze them by eating all kinds of strange combinations of foods. He had even once requested fish fingers and custard, and that was when Rory had decided that the Doctor had drunk too much mead, and had promptly taken his tankard away from him.

Despite all this, they lived with the constant worry that the people they were impersonating would turn up, or that the Lord would return, and then their luck would run out. Perhaps even more worryingly, and certainly more frustratingly for the Doctor, they still had no idea why they were actually here. They had asked all around the castle, from the stewards to the guards to the servant maids, but no one had heard pf any strange goings on that might give them a clue as to why Ellinor had been here previously, or who she was. There wasn't even any word from the villages about missing children.

Ellinor herself was quite happy. She gurgled away to the Doctor when he held her, and through him, even had brief conversations with Amy and Rory.

"She's learning fast now," the Doctor said proudly one morning, handing her back to Amy. "So much information going into that little baby head of hers. It's quite amazing, actually, how quickly you humans manage it."

"Manage what?" Rory asked.

"Growing up. But then I suppose you have less time to do it in than a Time Lord."

"How long did it take you to grow up?"

"About 150 years," the Doctor replied, and Amy's eyes widened for a moment. Even after all this time of travelling with him, she realised there were still so many things she didn't know about him. She was just about to ask him more when the sound of trumpets blared outside.

"I really hope that's not Lord Tristram," she muttered, racing to the window with Rory and the Doctor.

They looked down towards the castle gate, where five riders were approaching. Two of them held banners, which fluttered in the morning breeze, while the other two rode at the back of the small company. In the middle, on a white horse and wearing a flowing gown of deepest blue, sat

"River!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Well, whatever else you might say about her, she certainly knows how to travel in style," Amy said with approval.


	3. Chapter 3

They rushed down to meet River just as she rode gracefully into the courtyard, and slid down from the horse's back where she had been riding side saddle. A golden circlet graced her head, and a thin veil covered her hair, its edges bound in golden thread.

Sir Trensil was there again, greeting River. Really, they shouldn't have been surprised that River had already been here too, but it still did.

"Welcome back, Lady Elizabeth," he said, taking the reins of her horse. "Will your escort be staying too?"

"Regretfully not, Sir Trensil. They have business to attend to back home, which cannot be delayed."

Amy couldn't help but wonder how she'd convinced these four men to play the parts of her escort, whether by lipstick influence or good old fashioned gold bribery. She wanted nothing more than to go and give River a big hug, but wasn't yet sure if she was supposed to know 'Lady Elizabeth' or not, so she stayed quiet.

"May I take your horse to the stables, my Lady?"

"Yes, please do," River said, then watched Sir Trensil go. As soon as he was more or less out of earshot, she gave her family a wide smile, taking in the sight of Rory and Amy before her eyes settled on the Doctor. "Hello, Sweetie."

"Hello _Lady Elizabeth_!" he said, his face brightening like a little schoolboy's, making her laugh. As soon as he was close enough, she kissed him on the corner of his mouth.

"Steady, he's married to Amy now," Rory joked as he stepped forward and hugged River.

"Sorry about that," she replied, pulling a bit of a face. "I was having to do a lot of quick thinking and some of the words came out in the wrong order."

"You told them to expect us?"

"Well, I told Lord Tristram, who told them, yes. It's a long story, and I'll explain it once we're inside," River said, and Rory nodded as Amy finally made her way up. River's face brightened instantly at the sight of the happy, healthy baby in her mother's arms. She gently hugged Amy, being careful not to crowd Ellinor as she did, then gently stroked the baby's cheeks, making her gurgle happily.

"She remembers you," the Doctor said in translation.

"Clever girl!" River cooed, waving the baby's hand. "You only saw me for a few minutes."

River looked up at the three faces surrounding her, and saw all the questions written in their expressions. She sobered, straightening up. "I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"

"Yup," Amy replied, then marched her daughter straight inside and up to the suite of guest rooms they'd been occupying.

As soon as they were all in the same room, Rory closed the door, turning the key in the lock. The Doctor stood by the window for a moment, and Amy gently laid Ellinor down in the elaborate wooden cradle that had been provided for her.

"First things first," Amy said, marching back to River, who actually looked slightly intimidated. "Proper hug."

She held out her arms, and River embraced her young mother, the bright smile back on her face. When they pulled apart, Amy fixed her with intent eyes.

"Now, start explaining."

"Actually," the Doctor interrupted, sauntering away from the window and waving his blue diary, "We'd better make sure we're all on the same page."

River retrieved her diary from a hidden pocket in the folds of her dress, flicking it open. "Alright, when did you see me last?"

"When you gave us Ellinor," Amy said, and River smiled.

"Good, we're linear."

"And before that?" Amy asked.

"Christmas 2013," River said.

"We really are moving linearly for once," the Doctor mused.

River arched an eyebrow in his direction. "Interesting."

Rory held up his hands. "Can we not start the oblique and not-so-oblique flirting until we've got the big questions answered, please?"

"Sorry," River said, putting away her diary, though she didn't look remotely apologetic. "First question?"

"Who is Ellinor?" Amy asked.

"She's Ellinor," River replied.

Amy sighed. "No, I mean who is she really? Do you even know her real name?"

"Her real name is Ellinor."

"No, that's just what we called her," Amy said.

"I know," River said patiently. "And it's her real name."

Amy frowned, confused. "So I just happened to give her her real name?"

"In short, yes."

"Second question: where does she come from?" the Doctor asked.

River looked at him sadly. "A place she can never go back to."

"Why is that?" Amy asked, picking up Ellinor because she'd started crying.

"Because she _can't_," River replied.

"No," Amy said stubbornly, her ire raising at all the cryptic answers. "We have to get her back to her parents, River. You and I of all people know that babies should have a chance to be with their parents."

River shook her head.

"River, we have to try," Rory said pleadingly. "Just tell us where her parents are; she needs to go back to where she came from."

"Exactly," Amy said forcefully.

River looked at them all in turn, her gaze drifting from Ellinor to Rory, then to Amy and finally the Doctor. At the uncertainty in her eyes, he edged forward, but he was interrupted by Amy before he could even start to speak.

"River-"

"She can't go back to where she came from, and she is with her parents," River said quickly, unable to stand the barrage of questions and accusations any more. At their dumbfounded looks, she added, "In a way."

A silent conversation passed between Amy and River, over and done with before Rory and the Doctor could even notice.

_Is she yours?_

River shook her head.

_Mine?_

A nod.

"We're her parents?" Amy said, aloud now, pointing between herself and Rory. Rory gave a start, and River nodded again, slowly. Both of her parent's faces broke into wide, joyous smiles, albeit mixed with a fair share of confusion. Something flickered across Rory's face, a shadow of a thought. _Oh no, not again._

"In a way," River repeated slowly, and both of them looked at her sharply. "We should all sit down; this is going to take a lot of explaining, and it won't be easy."

They sat, perched on the edge of the bed together, River and Amy sat next to each other, with the Doctor and Rory on either side. Ellinor was settled into Amy's arms, no longer crying. Rory sat with one arm protectively around Amy's shoulders, the other absently stroking her arm. The Doctor sat close to River, both of her hands clasped in his, resting on her lap. He could feel her tense as she started telling the long tale.

"Ellinor comes from an alternate universe," River began.

"Like the aborted timeline with Area 52?" Amy asked.

"A little, except that it's not aborted; the universe she came from is continuing on. And in that universe, like in so many others, things are almost identical to what's already happened here; you were kidnapped by Kovarian and taken to Demon's Run. That Rory and that Doctor didn't know that you had gone until it was far too late."

"What about you?" Rory asked softly.

River gave a sad smile. "I don't exist in that universe."

Amy's heart was already breaking, from River's sadness and from the fact that they would soon have to give Ellinor back to the other Rory and Amy. She sniffed, and Rory pulled her closer. "River, we have to get her back to her real mother. I don't want to put another person, another me, through what we went through."

"We can't take her back, Amy."

"Why?" the Doctor asked softly.

River took a deep breath, prompting them to wonder just what she had seen with her own eyes in this alternate universe. "Because Kovarian is the only thing that's waiting for her."

"But her parents –"

"The other Amy gave birth to twins," River said, ignoring the interruption. "Melody and Ellinor Pond. And then the Battle of Demon's Run happened in that universe. And her Rory died. And so did her Doctor," her voice faltered and the Doctor gently squeezed her hands. "And when Amy tried to escape, Melody was killed. And then so was she. Ellinor is the only one left, the only one to survive. So I rescued her, and brought her here, where her family is still alive, and she has a chance at a normal life. I saw a chance to rescue my sister, and I took it."

"How did you-"

"Spoilers," River said, hushing the Doctor before he could even get the question out.

"You said we were moving linearly!"

"I lied, just a little. That's the one event we're not linear on."

The Doctor tapped her nose affectionately, and she smiled, her sadness momentarily banished.

"So," Amy said, choosing her words extremely carefully, and brushing a tear away from her cheek. "There's no one left for her, no one at all? Not even her grandparents?"

"Kovarian was very thorough. I'm sorry, but she had the other Amy's and the other Rory's parents killed as well."

Amy gasped, and beside her she felt Rory shudder with horror. She couldn't imagine it, didn't want to, and even as her mind raced to block out the thoughts it was reconstructing the events. She couldn't imagine the Doctor and Rory arriving to rescue her and her daughters, only to see them die. To know everyone she cared about was dead too. To make a desperate last escape attempt and be killed for it. She refused to contemplate a dead River.

"She really is completely alone," River said gently. "Everywhere but here."

"We can keep her?" Amy asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"I think we should," River said, smiling down at the baby.

Amy glanced to Rory, who immediately nodded.

The Doctor gave a faint smile. "Ellinor Pond. Welcome to the family."

They talked long into the night, trying to banish each other's sadness at the events which had come to pass in that alternate universe. Ellinor slept soundly from about eight o'clock onwards, and when the time came for the rest of them to go to sleep, River actually had to convince the Doctor to stay with Amy, to at least keep up the façade of the story they had told. It wouldn't do, she said, for one woman's husband to be seen visiting another woman in the middle of the night.

So all night the Doctor lingered in Amy's room, sometimes sat on the bed next to her as she slept, sometimes watching the stars roam the sky outside the window, and sometimes speaking to Ellinor in hushed tones, whether or not she was awake.

Amy woke once in the night after a bad dream, but she didn't say anything, and obviously didn't want the Doctor to realise that she was even awake, so he said nothing, just watched the stars as much the same images that had plagued Amy's dreams plagued his mind. Images of Demon's Run, gone horribly wrong.

Morning came and chased away those nightmares, allowing them a peaceful day of roaming the grounds. The Doctor and River went off by themselves while Amy and Rory took care of Ellinor, and found themselves contemplating a new future with their second unexpected child.

By afternoon they were all back in the suite of chambers that had been given over to them, their main activity settled on fussing Ellinor. And she wasn't giving any complaints about that. She had started calling Amy 'mummy' and Rory 'dada', and were just introducing the concept of River being her sister when there was a loud clamouring from behind the closed oak door. They all froze, and listened as another clatter came, accompanied by shouts.

"Stay here," River said, heading to the door. When she glanced back, Rory was following her. "No really, stay," she said, her gaze flickering to Amy and Ellinor. Rory caught her meaning and took up position between Amy and the door. "Doctor, you take the door."

She needn't have said it; he was halfway there already, his hand reaching into his jacket and pulling out the sonic screwdriver. With one last glance at him, River opened the door and cautiously went out into the hall. The sounds of fighting were echoing up the stairwell, shouts and clashes of weapons and grunts of pain. Soundlessly, River made her way to the stairwell, took a deep breath, and then looked around the corner.

What she saw there filled her with anger and fear in equal measures, but she should have expected it to be no one else.

Madame Kovarian, with an eyedrive covering her left eye, was stalking up the stairs, ranks of Church members behind her. She gave a most unnerving smile as she saw River standing at the top of the stairs.

"Hello, Melody Pond."

River stood frozen for a moment, feeling the pulling effects of her long buried conditioning resurfacing.

_No_, she told herself, refusing to give into that pull which would control her if it could. _We fixed that_.

She turned on her heel and ran back down the corridor, making sure that the conditioning that had allowed Kovarian to control her in the first place was staying buried. The Doctor caught her hand as she flew back into the room, grounding her further as she slammed the door behind herself.

"It's Kovarian and the Church. They're here for us," she said, hitching up her skirts and unholstering the gun she had hidden there.

Rory drew his sword protectively. "Then we stand and fight."

River went over to him and gently pushed his arm down. "No. We can't. Not here, not now, not when the only things we have are swords and one gun. They won't kill the people here unless we give them reason to. We have to run."

For a moment, defiance flickered in Rory's eyes. And then he looked at River, really looked at her, and realised how uncommon it was for her to run – from anything. If River Song was running, it was time to run with her. He blinked hard and nodded, moving back towards Amy.

"Amy, get into the Tardis," River ordered. She could see in her mother's moment of hesitation that she didn't like this either, but she picked up Ellinor and ran into the Tardis where it stood cloaked by a hanging tapestry. Rory followed her, making sure she was safe. River turned to the Doctor. "Get the Tardis ready to leave."

"What about you?"

River levelled her gun at the doorway, backing up until she felt near enough to the Tardis. "Holding down the fort, My Love."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, and then ran into the Tardis. Even from where she was stood, River could hear the Tardis' humming responses to the Doctor as he got her ready to fly. It would only be a few short seconds now, and then they would be out of there like a shot.

But it wasn't fast enough.

There was a dull thud on the other side of the door, and then the blast of the explosion that destroyed it. Before the smoke could clear, several members of the Church's army were pouring in, taking up their positions just inside the room before Kovarian herself came striding in, a self satisfied smile on her face. She stood there, the assured authority in her eyes just daring River to do something.

_Shoot her!_

River didn't know if the words came formed from her own mind or if Amy had shouted them from inside the Tardis, but it didn't matter. She gave Kovarian a cold smile, and squeezed the trigger of her gun.

And missed.

She _never_ missed.

Kovarian's smile widened, and River took aim again, but just as she pulled the trigger, a muscle in her arm spasmed and the shot went wide again, burying itself in the chest of one of the soldiers instead. She fired again, but it still went wide, again and again until she ran out of ammunition, and still Kovarian stood there with that maddening smirk on her face.

"Oh Melody, I told you before; we were far too clever with your head," she purred. River stood frozen, for the second time as she tired to comprehend what was happening. "You can't kill me."

The Tardis was firing up, the sounds of its engines growing louder and louder, and if River didn't leave soon, she was going to be stuck here.

"I will," she promised coldly, before spinning on her heel and disappearing through the Tardis doors a moment before they themselves disappeared.

Inside was chaos; Ellinor was crying as Amy tried to shield and comfort her at the same time. The Doctor was running around the console like a madman, no doubt doing something extraordinarily clever to ensure that they couldn't be followed. Rory had defaulted to his Roman mindset, and looked ready to do battle with a thousand Church members. But the Tardis had already left them far behind.

The Doctor finally looked up from the console and saw her standing there unhurt, and relief washed over his features. He dashed down the stairs and stopped right in front of her, his hands going to cradle her face.

"Are you alright, River?" he asked, those old eyes looking at her as though he was seeing into her very soul.

"I'm fine," she assured him, but it was a lie, one that he saw. He wrapped her up in his arms, one hand going protectively around her waist while the other cradled her head, which she leaned on his shoulder, her hands flat on his back. It was such a wonderful feeling, to be wrapped up in his embrace, and one which she treasured. "I'll _be_ fine," she murmured, and he held her tighter for a moment to let her know that yes, she would be, before releasing her, his hand sliding down her arm until he caught her hand.

Amy had approached them, holding Ellinor close, the worry showing clearly in her eyes.

"I saw what happened out there. I saw you shooting. Why didn't you just kill Kovarian?"

"I was trying," she said, and she could feel the disapproval emanating from the Doctor, though he had the grace not to voice it. "I couldn't. Not wouldn't; couldn't. She's done something to me, put in some kind of failsafe to stop me from killing her."

"I thought we took care of all that," the Doctor said softly.

"So did I, but apparently not all of it. Just being near her was almost enough to bring it all back," she confessed, glancing at the Doctor who was still watching her with concerned eyes. It was all for her though, none for himself. He hadn't even flinched when she'd told him that her conditioning had nearly been reactivated, with the implication that she might have tried to kill him again if it had. She silently thanked him for having so much faith in her, and changed the subject. "So, where are we heading off to?"

The Doctor rocked on his heels, looking clever. "I don't know."

"Excuse me?"

"We're leapfrogging through time. Just jumping in and out of some harmless time zones to make sure they can't track us. It's what I was doing up there while I was being clever," he said, nodding to the console.

"Oh Sweetie, you're always being clever."

He looked proud. "I am?"

River wrinkled her nose. "No. Just most of the time."

"Did Kovarian say who she was after?" Amy asked.

River shrugged. "Any of us. All of us. I think we're all on her target list now."

"What do we do now though?" Rory asked. "We can't just spend forever running."

"We do what we were doing in the first place," the Doctor answered. "Figuring out what to do." So if any of them had been expecting a more solid plan, they were sorely disappointed. "How about we take an extended holiday, snoop around the Universe for a while? I know some lovely hotels."

Later that evening, the Tardis was still flying through the vortex, and every now and then the engines would still as she landed for a moment before taking off again. Amy and Rory walked side by side down the long corridors, with Ellinor half asleep in Amy's arms. It was the only way they had been able to calm her; she'd been restless ever since they'd left Scotland, and even now she was barely asleep. Amy held onto her protectively as if at any moment, Kovarian might come out of the shadows and snatch the child away.

"It's all happing too fast again, isn't it?" she asked Rory, her voice a hushed whisper so as not to disturb Ellinor. "Just when you think you've gotten the hang of this whole thing…We didn't have any warning this time, and now look at us; parents again." Her eyes suddenly turned wide and she gave voice to that awful fear. "What if it goes the same way as last time? What if we loose Ellinor, too?"

"We won't," Rory said, his voice full of assurance. "She's here with us; she's safe."

"We thought that last time."

"Amy, this isn't like last time. Ellinor is here with us, not a duplicate. That was one of the first things that the Doctor checked."

"I just can't help but worry-"

"Don't," Rory said, wrapping her in a gentle embrace. "We're going to win this time."

He watched Amy until she gave the briefest of smiles and a nod, and realised that they had arrived back in the console room. Looking down over the railings, they saw River and the Doctor sat opposite each other on the floor. Their hands rested together, and they were talking in low and hushed tones.

"I think we'd better leave them alone," Rory said. "Come on, time to get this tiny little one and her mum off to bed."

Amy's eyes lit up, and she smiled, really smiled at him. "Mum," she repeated, the word sending a strange heady mix of joy and nervousness through her. Rory smiled and leaned in to kiss her forehead, making her smile brighten even more.

Far below, River and the Doctor had heard neither their coming nor their going. They were paying far too much attention to each other for that.

"I'm sorry, about today," River said quietly.

"For what?"

"For my conditioning emerging, for Kovarian almost getting the better of me."

The Doctor reached out to stroke the side of her face. "It's not your fault. That will never be your fault."

She leaned into his hand, giving a smile at the forgiveness in his eyes.

"But we do need to fix it," he said softly.

She instantly drew back a little, despite the apologetic look in the Doctor's eyes. "I hate having people in my head. Even you, my Love."

"I know," he said softly. "And I am so sorry. For what's been done to you, what's still being done to you and all of the things that I couldn't stop. But if you let me do his, you'll be one step further away from Kovarian. I'm sorry."

She took each of his hands in hers, kissed them and then brought them to hover either side of her own head. "I trust you."

He gave a faint smile, and began reaching into her mind as she closed her eyes. "Remember what I said before. If there's anything I shouldn't be seeing yet or anything you want to keep hidden, just shut it behind a door."

River nodded and instantly he felt at least half of her mind sealed off to him. He couldn't help but smile at knowing just how much more they had to do together. River kept her eyes closed, though it was tempting to try to go the other way through the door, into the Doctor's mind to see some spoilers of her own. But there was something in the way he sometimes looked at her, with such a deep sadness that had long ago told her she didn't want to know everything. So she stayed in the confines of her own head, as he walked through her memories as though they were corridors.

She'd never let go of his hands, and now she held onto them tighter as he approached the memories from her childhood. They had not been pleasant times, and Kovarian was right; she had been far too clever with River's head. Even now, there were perception filters in her own mind, put there by Kovarian, which she still couldn't see past.

"Are they there because you can't remove them, or because you choose not to?" she asked, knowing that the Doctor was in the same space in her memories as she was.

He paused for a moment, unwilling to answer. "Ah…"

"Haven't we had the conversation about you not making my decisions for me yet?" River asked, disapproval colouring her voice.

"I think it's best for you if we left them."

"Doctor, it's my memory, my own. Would you have me walking around with holes in it, missing spaces?"

"Yes," he answered, and something in his voice made her too afraid to ask him to remove them. "You said you trusted me."

"Always," she said, letting the matter rest.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes, looking for the right places.

"Ah-ha!" the Doctor exclaimed suddenly. "There we are!"

It reminded River of when he tinkered with the Tardis, how he would just go poking around until he made something work. "Try to remember that this is my head we're playing with, Sweetie."

"Sorry," he said, reaching just a little further into her mind, placing blocks around the hidden pieces of conditioning that he'd found and severing their connection to the rest of her mind. "There. That's that problem solved."

Just as when he'd done it before, River felt a little more relaxed, as though a spring or trigger had been…not released exactly, but deactivated somehow. "Can you remove the part that says I can't kill her?"

She felt the Doctor flinch a little at the words, but his answer was honest. "No. I can't find it. It's too well hidden, but since it's a failsafe, that makes sense, to bury it the deepest."

"Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"Fairly sure."

"Doctor, this is your life we're talking about here. You need to be certain."

"You'll be fine," he said, gently breaking the connection and kissing her head.

"And you?"

"I'm always okay," he promised.

He helped River to her feet, and they stood and embraced each other. Neither of them was sure how long they stayed like that, but then neither of them ever wanted to move. And that was a luxury that for now, at least, they had.

Three weeks later, Amy and Rory were walking down the high streets of New York, in 2023. It was a beautiful early summer's day, the sun shining through the new green leaves of the trees to create dappled patterns on the pavement. The horse drawn carriages clattered by, each of them filled with tourists and romanticists, while overhead, great holograms advertised the newest gadgets in a long line of technology. It was an odd mix of the familiar and the strangely new, yet it was only ten years into their future. What was it like in the 51st Century, where River spent so much of her time? Had they managed to solve the problems of overcrowding and global warming? How far had technology leapt along in three millennia? These were things they asked each other though, because they knew they weren't really meant to ask River. From time to time though, she would drop hints and spoilers, and some of it was evident in the way she acted and spoke, and the things she knew.

Ellinor was asleep on Amy's shoulder, her breathing slow and deep and reassuring. They hadn't seen or heard anything of Kovarian and the Silence since leaving Scotland, and they really had begun to think of this as one long holiday. They joked about how many air miles Ellinor had already stacked up, not to mention years travelled.

The Doctor was still working hard to figure things out, but he let Amy and Rory spend as much time with Ellinor as they could. Her hair, which had started out dark was beginning to lighten, though it wasn't yet clear whether she would take after Rory or Amy's colouring. She didn't look like River, of course; since regenerating, River's genetics were very much her own. And when you thought about it that way, it didn't really matter; Ellinor would indeed grow up with a time head – it was why Kovarian had wanted her – so eventually she would regenerate, too, though Amy and Rory were determined that she would do it because of old age rather than injury. And the Doctor had never mentioned it, but she did smell like River, the same mix of vanilla, coconut, ozone and time vortex.

Amy and Rory walked back into the hotel, the marble lobby cool and fresh. They took the lift up to their suite of rooms, overlooking Central Park. As the Doctor had promised, they had stayed only in the nicest of hotels. Goodness knows how much it was costing, but then he and River were both perfectly capable of moving through time to build funds. River had told them how she'd financed her way through University, by going back to the first civilisation to have money, taking a coin and hiding it very very carefully, then jumping forward by six millennia to retrieve it and then sell it to the University itself. What she hadn't told them was that it had taken several goes until she had hidden it well enough.

They scanned their fingerprints at the door, which served as the keys to their room. As soon as they were inside, River had dashed over, taking her little sister from Amy's aching arms with the most loving smile on her face. She surreptitiously checked Ellinor over, making sure nothing had happened to her in the past ninety minutes.

"River, she's fine, honestly," Amy said with a laugh in her voice. "She's been as good as gold, just like you were."

River looked up at her. "I was, really?"

Amy nodded. "Yep. Those four weeks I had you, you hardly even cried."

River smiled, touched by this tiny sentiment, then went with Amy to settle Ellinor into the crib. The Doctor, who had been standing by the window, turned around, holding his hands up in thought.

"Does anyone else find our family situation a bit…well…weird?"

"Yup," replied Amy.

"All the time, Sweetie," River added as she tucked her twin sister in.

Rory self-consciously raised his hand.

"Good, not just me then," the Doctor said quietly. "So then Ponds, did you have a good afternoon?"

"You say that like you're not a Pond yourself," River chided.

"I know, but it's just too good a name not to use."

"We had a great afternoon, thanks," Amy said, leaving Ellinor to rest now. "She's gonna grow up to be one of the most culturally and time-educated girls ever."

"Ponds always are clever," River said, and Amy nodded approvingly.

"Yes," the Doctor said, rocking happily on his heels. "We are."

Later that evening, they were sat in the living area of the suite, lounging on the low-back couches. Amy sat curled up against Rory, who had one arm wrapped protectively around her. The Doctor sat on the opposite couch with River, who was sat lengthwise, her legs looped over the Doctor's, and her back resting against the arm of the sofa. At first, the Doctor had protested this arrangement, but now he was absolutely content, his fingers tracing invisible patterns on her shins and the tops of her feet as they talked together.

Over in her crib, Ellinor woke and started the little 'hup-hups' which proceeded her crying. With a sigh, Amy reluctantly stood.

"Do you want me to get her?" Rory offered, stirring from his place, but Amy waved him off.

"It's okay," she said to him, repeating the same sentiment to Ellinor as she picked her up. She walked around and did the joggy-walk with her for a few minutes, but it was having no effect.

"She says no offense, but she wants the rocky-joggy-walk," the Doctor said.

"That's River's speciality," Amy said, bringing Ellinor over as the Doctor playfully pushed River's legs off his lap. She mock glared at him, before standing and gently taking Ellinor. She smiled down at her little sister, and began walking with her in the way that she'd requested.

"Is that better?" River asked softly.

"She also wants you to sing," the Doctor relayed, all at one awkward and intrigued, because he hadn't ever heard River singing to Ellinor. Or at all, actually. "She's a little demanding, isn't she?"

"She can demand anything she wants," River said softly.

"River Song, wrapped around the fingers of a two month old baby," he mused, and she ignored him. Instead she began singing softly in High Gallifreyan, which was a high and melodic language to hear when it was merely spoken, but what it was sung, it was simply the most beautiful sound. Almost instantly, Ellinor quietened and relaxed.

"Every baby should come with a Doctor to translate," Amy said as she hovered near the door, leaning against the panelling. She smiled a little to herself as she watched her family, feeling so much pride and love for them.

Without any warning, their peace was abruptly and completely shattered by a single shout as the door was kicked in. They all spun to face the door, through which gas canisters were already being thrown. Amy was coughing, trying to get away, but the gas was already overcoming her. River shifted the crying Ellinor to one arm as she reached underneath the parachute skirt of her dress, pulling out a gun and levelling it at the door. There was only one person it could be.

"Go!" Amy screamed as she doubled over and her arms were roughly seized by the soldiers of the Church. "You have to take her and go!"

Rory tried to rush the soldiers, but he was beaten back by a hail of bullets and laser fire.

"River, get inside the Tardis!" the Doctor shouted.

"But-"

"Now!" he bellowed, and she did as she was told, backing into the safety of the blue box, her gun levelled before her as she shot at anyone who looked like they were so much as thinking of getting too close. Kovarian appeared just before she made it to the Tardis, and River had to try shooting her, but of course she failed anyway.

As soon as she was inside the Tardis, River spun and ran up to the console, still cradling Ellinor in one arm.

"Anywhere, take us anywhere but here and now," River muttered to the Tardis as she thrashed in random coordinates and threw the engines into full throttle, not even bothering to take the brakes off. "Wait for the Doctor."

She turned around, and levelled her gun at the door, in case anyone who wasn't her family tried getting in.

"Hurry, my Love," she whispered as she heard shouts and gunfire coming from outside. There was a flash of shadows at the door, and then the Doctor stumbled in, dragging Rory with him. Rory was shouting and hollering, begging them to stay, to get Amy. Half a second later, River realised Amy wasn't coming.

"River, we have to leave now!" the Doctor shouted at her, tearing her from her frozen thoughts. Her face changed into a mask of determination, and she threw the levers, commanding the Tardis to leave; she did so with a mournful howl of her engines.

There was a few seconds before the engine noises faded, signalling that they were in flight.

Rory was still by the door, slamming his fists into it again and again, distraught and angry. He rounded on the Doctor, his look dark and unforgiving. "You left her!"

The Doctor held up his hands, his expression slightly panicked.

"You just left her!" Rory shouted.

River gently laid Ellinor down in the Doctor's cradle, tucked under the console, whispering calming things to her in Gallifreyan. It didn't work, but the Doctor needed her more right now. River came down the steps towards Rory and the Doctor, moving cautiously.

"Rory, its-"

"And you! You just flew us away from her, your own mother!"

The words made River feel like she'd been shot. She took a couple of steps back, and no words would come to her.

"How could you both just leave her there, with _them_?" Rory spat, looking between River and the Doctor, whose expression had darkened like an oncoming storm.

"Rory, we had to leave her. She was telling us to do the same thing," the Doctor said, his voice dangerously level.

"Of course she said that! She's Amy! We can't just leave her, you-"

"I have a family now, and so do you!" the Doctor bellowed, pointing at River and Ellinor. "We can't think just of Amy any more! And because she's Amy, brilliant, wonderful Amy, she knew that!"

Rory opened his mouth to shout back, but whatever profanities he'd been thinking died in his throat. Suddenly, his anger melted and washed away, leaving only distress. His hand flew to his face to stifle the sob that was suddenly threatening to break out. River finally approached him, and gently hugged him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled to her.

"It's alright, I forgive you," she said easily. The Doctor laid a land on her shoulder, and she glanced up at him through the sheen of tears that had settled in her own eyes.

"We're going to get her back," he promised them both.

Ellinor was inconsolable; she kept crying and repeatedly asked where Amy was. The Doctor had frozen at that question, and River had gently explained that Amy couldn't be with them right now. But Ellinor had only cried all the more until she exhausted herself.

Late that night, Rory had gone to bed after River and the Doctor had offered to take care of Ellinor. At first, Rory had looked like he never planned to let Ellinor out of his sight, but he had agreed once River had picked up Ellinor and started singing softly to her again. After all, River needed much less sleep than her fully human father, and the Doctor needed none at all.

Now they sat underneath the platform which held the Tardis console, River rocking gently in the hammock seat which hung there, cuddling the sleeping Ellinor as the Doctor tinkered with the Tardis.

"We're going to need a plan now, you know," River said in a low, quiet voice.

The Doctor paused and pushed his goggles up on his forehead. "I know. I'm working on it. And Amy will be too."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Welcome to the final act; I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Reviews are the most lovely things, and I would love to hear what you've thought of this adventure.

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><p>"Okay Kid, this is where it gets complicated." ~ Amy Pond 'The Big Bang'.<p>

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><p>Amy blinked her eyes, several times and hard, but she still wasn't sure that she had them open. Then a white light flashed on, leaving her vision blurry and bending. The whiteness was all around, and it was so, so bright. She squinted against it, and moved to shield her eyes with her hands. That first movement made her aware that she was just lying sprawled on a hard, cold floor. She stayed still for a few moments, until the world had stopped lurching and spinning quite so fast, and then she pushed herself up into a half sitting position. She took stock of her body at the same time as she took stock of the room; she still had all her limbs, nothing felt broken, just bruised, and she wiggled her toes. Good, nothing too bad then. The room was almost completely white, save for red and grey stripes running halfway up the wall. It was almost identical to the hospital wings of Demon's Run, and for a moment she thought she was there again until she began noticing the small differences. The door was in a different place, and halfway down the room, the air shimmered like a pane of glass. It was a force field, she realised, surprised at how easily that revelation came now. There was another one on the right side of her cell, where the partition was part brick tile wall, part shimmering force field.<p>

There was no one outside her cell, but up in the far corner of the room a black cylinder was mounted on the wall, with a red light flashing on top. It was obviously some sort of security device, so she assumed she was being watched or listened to, or both.

Amy tried to remember as much as she could of what had happened, but so much of it was as blurry as her vision had been. She remembered the almighty clatter of the door being kicked in, and the gas quickly surrounding her. She vaguely remembered seeing River backing into the Tardis with Ellinor in her arms. She hoped against hope that she had gotten away safely, and taken the Doctor and Rory with her.

There was a sudden rustling from behind the half-wall beside her, and she froze, listening. Someone was moving about behind there.

"Hello?" she called out, standing warily. "Rory? Doctor?"

"No," came a haggard voice from behind the wall. It was a voice that was both utterly foreign and yet strangely familiar, and she frowned as she tried to place it.

"Who's there?" she asked, slowly moving towards the half wall.

"Who are _you_?" the voice asked defensively. There was another rustle as the other person moved. Amy inched forwards towards the force field in the wall, intrigue warring with caution and fear. Red hair appeared over the other side as the person slowly rose to her feet, and Amy gasped and flinched back as she found herself staring at her own face.

Her eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up at exactly the same time as the other Amy. Suddenly convinced that it was only a mirror, she reached out at the same time as the other Amy, their hands drifting closer, almost touching when the shock of touching the force field raced through her.

"Ow!" Amy shouted, shaking her hand and holding it with the other.

"Dammit!" the other Amy cursed, sucking on her hurt fingers.

"Okay," Amy said slowly.

At the same time, the other her whispered "No way."

"Are you a ganger?" Amy asked suspiciously.

The other Amy shook her head. "Mine's dead."

"Mine too," Amy said. "How can there be two of us…me…what?" She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"I have no idea, but this is weird. Very very weird," the other Amy said.

"You're telling me." It was like she was talking with herself. Well, she was, but it was so coherent and fluid and familiar that it was like she was just talking to herself inside her own head. And then it clicked, what had happened. This was no duplicate, ganger or clone. This literally was another her, from another Universe, the same way that Ellinor was from another Universe. _Just how did this keep happening?_ "Amy or Amelia?" she asked, seeking some way to distinguish herself.

"Amelia," she answered.

"Because the Doctor calls you that still, right?" Amy asked.

Amelia's eyes darkened, her expression going from amazement to deep, deep sadness. "The Doctor's dead."

"No, he's not," Amy answered. "Didn't River tell you?"

"Who's River?" Amelia asked, confused. "The Doctor is dead. I saw it with my own eyes. Kovarian shot him, then again while he was regenerating. He's dead. And so is Rory."

Amy froze, her blood running cold. "No."

"He is," Amelia said sadly.

"No," Amy said again, shaking her head. "My Doctor and my Rory are still alive."

"_Your_ Doctor and Rory?" Amelia repeated. "How can they be yours?"

"Don't you see what's happening?" Amy asked.

"To be honest I'm not entirely convinced that you're real," Amelia said.

Amy snorted. "That's rich. Why should you be the real one?"

"Well why should you?"

"That's – nevermind, okay?" Amy said with a huff. Just how was she going to reason with herself? "I know what's going on: you're from an alternate Universe, one where everything is the same but a little bit different."

"Why am I the one from an alternate universe?" Amelia argued.

"Oh would you shut up at listen to yourself? And by that, I mean me."

Amelia's eyes widened. "I was going to say that to you."

"Because you are me," Amy said, a little more gently. "Or I am you, just a slightly different version. Look, my Doctor and my Rory aren't dead, and neither is River, and I know you don't know who she is, but we mean a lot to her, okay? So they're coming to get us. And once they do, we can take you back home."

Amelia hesitated, looking guiltily at Amy.

"What is it?" Amy asked hesitantly.

Amelia hesitated for a moment, debating whether to say it or not. "What if I don't want to? Can't I stay with you? Please, there's nothing for me back home; I've lost everyone."

Amy looked at her sadly, and suddenly she understood a little of what the Doctor felt, always the one to tell people the bad news. "I'm sorry. It doesn't work like that. It can't work. There can't be two of us in the same place at the same time. I don't even know how it's working now, but when we get out of here, we shouldn't touch."

"Why?"

"Because it might rip a hole in the Universe – I don't know. The Doctor's usually around to tell me these things."

"But he's not anymore."

"No, but he will be," Amy said stubbornly.

"In the meantime, Amy Pond, we have to think for ourselves. Because I can't rely on my Doctor anymore."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet. It's a thing in progress, respect the thing," Amelia said, and they both shared a moment of quiet laughter at the Doctor's words. "He's not the best man, you know. You should know that. He is a good man. But he's not the best. That was always Rory."

"I know," Amy nodded, swallowing against the lump in her throat. When Amelia looked at her doubtfully, she repeated. "I really know."

"How old are you?" Amelia asked.

"Twenty five," Amy replied. "You?"

"Twenty two," Amelia replied. "I thought you looked older."

Amy snorted. "Thanks!"

Amelia laughed even as she brushed the tears away from her cheeks.

"How long has it been since Demon's Run?" Amy asked softly.

"Four months," Amelia replied. "Four months since the Doctor and Rory died. Two since Ellinor died."

Amy's blood ran cold, and she stared wide-eyed at Amelia. River had told her that Ellinor's Amy had died.

"Is River – Melody – is Melody still alive?"

Amelia frowned. "Who's Melody?"

"Didn't you have twins?" Amy asked, even more confused now.

"No, just Ellinor. But the Church was experimenting on her, and it went wrong…and she died," Amelia said, the lump in her throat threatening to overcome her words. "I saw her body. They took her from me, and then they killed her. And now they're still keeping me, and I don't know why." Her gaze fell to the floor, and when she spoke again, her words were barely audible. "Sometimes I wish they would just kill me, too."

"No you don't," Amy said softly. "No matter how much you loose, you have to keep going. That other thing…it isn't even an option. So don't consider it. It wouldn't be what Rory and the Doctor wanted."

Amelia looked at her through her tears, and then resolve hardened on her expression, and she nodded. "So let's work on getting out of here, yeah?"

"Yeah," Amy replied, hiding the secret rush of gladness that Ellinor, her Ellinor, didn't belong to this Amy. And then she felt guilty for even thinking that, and turned instead to the task in hand, of thinking of a way to escape.

They had been in silence for hours when Kovarian appeared through the sliding door in the wall outside of their force field cells. Amy stood up and came forward to face her, while Amelia glared at her from the corner of her cell.

"So, which Kovarian are you?" Amy asked before the woman could even speak. "And for that matter, which Universe are we in, mine or hers?"

"So you've figured it out, clever girl," Kovarian said patronisingly. "Almost everyone here is from her Universe, if you really want to know. So you're the 'other' Amy."

"And which Kovarian are you? Was it you we saw in Scotland?"

"Oh yes; you know it's proven quite difficult to track you through all the cracks and leaps in time."

"So you're from her Universe too, yeah?"

"Sadly not. The Kovarian in her Universe was killed by Rory Williams," she said, and Amelia started. "Did you never hear that? Oh my dear, he died so valiantly, but not before he killed your Kovarian. But as soon as she was dead, I just stepped into her place, and then we took you and your child, and brought you here."

"So you're from my Universe?" Amy asked impatiently.

"Guess again."

"Ellinor's," Amy whispered, and Amelia shot to her feet.

"Correct. We're in Ellinor's universe," Kovarian said smugly.

"You have an Ellinor, too?" Amelia asked Amy, the shock clear in her expression.

"Yeah, sort of," Amy admitted.

"But she's not yours," Kovarian taunted.

"No, but since you killed her Amy, and her Rory, and her Doctor and her River, I'm taking care of her. You killed them all, in your own Universe, and now in hers!" she shouted fiercely, pointing to Amelia. "How many more lives are you going to destroy in your quest for a child?"

"So that's what you're after?" Amelia asked. "You killed my daughter, so now you're after another."

"Yes," Kovarian replied. "But since you have a fully grown one in the form of River Song, Amy, I might just take her instead. So much less hassle than a baby, and I'm sure another me has already done the hard work."

Amy gave a cold smile. "Don't bet on it. The Doctor fixed her."

"Perhaps I can break her again."

"Don't you dare!" Amy shouted.

"My my, protective of our daughters, aren't we?" Kovarian laughed. "We'll see what will happen. And don't bother trying to escape; we'll be listening in," she added tapping her ear before spinning on her heel and leaving.

Despite Kovarian's cautioning, and maybe because of it, they started plotting their escape that night, speaking in hushed tones. They soon realised that they only need voice half of what they were thinking before the other caught up, and sometimes they didn't need to say anything at all. One would simply look at the other, just open her mouth before the other would shake her head dismissively or nod in enthusiastic agreement. The only time that they really spoke at length was when Amelia was sharing with Amy what she'd learned of the workings of the ship. This she explained over several nights, so as not to arouse too much suspicion from the Silence. Neither of them could say for sure whether there were actually Silents on board, because they wouldn't have remembered even if they had seen them.

Amy had long since realised that she was there to serve as bait for the Doctor and River, so when their plan involved actually getting the Tardis there, she was reluctant to agree. But even Amelia had to admit that as clever as they were, there would be no way out, no way back home, without the Doctor's help.

So they'd settled on the plan, which had taken all of Amelia's knowledge of the ship that she'd picked up – and a bunch of papers about the ship that she'd stolen during one of her escape attempts. Amy was incredibly proud of her for that, because despite loosing everything they held dear, Amelia hadn't really been ready to give up.

But even with all that knowledge, this plan was still relying a lot on them being able to wing it once they got out. But Amy was sure they could cope, and she assured Amelia of this by telling her how she'd met her future self once, who had been able to make her own sonic screwdriver while being chased by deadly robots. She didn't finish that story, though, not really.

Finally, they had all the details pinned down but one: just how they were going to get out of their cells. Then, one evening, they realised. At exactly two minutes past eight, all of the lights would flicker and dim, just for a moment. So did the crackling announcements over the speakers, and the lights over the doors. And, most importantly, so did the force fields.

Amelia surmised that it must be the reality drive, which lay at the heart of the ship, the thing which allowed Kovarian to punch holes in the Universe to leap from one reality to another. She wasn't sure if it was when it punched holes, or sealed up those it had jumped through, or even if it was just a glitch, but she reckoned that it was the only thing there big enough to momentarily drain the power from the rest of the ship.

So, the next evening, at one minute and forty seconds past eight, they both stood without a word, and picked up the chairs that stood in the corners of their cells. They waited by the force fields, and when two minutes past eight came, and the lights dimmed for a moment, they both swung the chairs into the force fields.

There was an awful crackling sound of electricity, and several blinding flashes as the force fields tried to reactivate properly. The lights in the room flashed like strobe lights, so that the blue electricity arcing through the air where the force fields were looked even more spectacular. For a moment, they both wondered what they had done and how they would get out of it now.

But then the crackling stopped, and the force field generators gave out with a whine, shutting down and letting the chairs clatter to the floor. Amy and Amelia shared an amazed glance before they stepped out into the other side of the room, free.

But they had no time to celebrate their liberty, because a faint buzzing from the other side of the door told them that someone was coming in. Amy froze with a guilty look while Amelia grabbed another chair and pressed herself to the wall. When the soldier came in and looked at Amy, Amelia brought the chair crashing down on the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Grab his identity cards and keys." Amelia said, but Amy was already on it. Her hands lingered at his neck for a moment. "What are you doing?" Amelia hissed.

"Making sure he's still alive!"

"Do I care?"

Amy looked at her with a deadly serious expression. "Yes, you do." Amelia stepped back as Amy sprang to her feet, passing Amelia the man's stun gun, keeping the ammunition gun for herself. "He's alive."

With that she was gone, dashing out of the door, and Amelia followed, just in time to take down the guard with the stun gun she'd been given.

"That should buy us some time," she said, pleased with her handiwork, then took off with Amy in tow.

They stalked their way down the corridors, working their way to the heart of the ship where the reality drive would be. Several times they had to duck into alcoves or run in the opposite direction when they saw soldiers and two or three times they were sure that they would be caught.

As they worked their way deeper into the vast ship, they heard a humming, so deep and strong and powerful that it could only have been one thing: the reality drive. They followed it, and all the time it grew louder and louder, until they were in the very heart of the ship. They rounded a corner, then immediately ducked back around it, pressing themselves to the walls because just beyond, two soldiers were stood in front of a massive set of double doors.

Amelia leaned around just far enough to see the code that they put into the key pad, and watched them disappear into the reality drive room. Just a few seconds later, the soldiers returned, the door sliding closed behind them.

"You'd think they'd find a way to make it quieter in there," one muttered, rubbing his ears.

"Don't complain," the other scoffed as he keyed in the locking code. "You've only got to check it over once every twelve hours. Would you rather be recruited by the Headless Monks?"

The first one scoffed, and they tramped down the corridor, oblivious to the fact that Amelia had watched the entire exchange. She glanced to Amy, who nodded, and they dashed out from their hiding place. Amelia quickly typed in the pass code, and the doors slid open obligingly. They went cautiously inside, and as soon as they were sure that they were alone, Amelia typed in the code to lock the doors behind them.

They found themselves in an enormous round room, all smooth and black, the walls just curving up from the floors until they made the ceiling. It was made into a bizarre doughnut shape because there, in the middle, was a massive machine.

"Reality generator," they said as one, sharing a glance that was part awe, part fear before making their way towards the gigantic contraption. Like the rest of the room, it was matt black, but rather than being still, it was moving, slowly pulsing, as though it was a living, breathing thing.

"Okay, now comes the hard part," Amelia muttered as she stepped right up to the machine and lifted off a hatch, exposing all the wiring beneath, and a little command keyboard and display screen.

"At least we've got twelve hours to do it in."

"Or until they realise we've escaped."

"Point," Amy said, edging closer to the ominous machine. "Better get on with it, then."

Amelia began hacking into the system, using all of the bits of knowledge she'd picked up here and there, and making the rest up. When they came across an authorisation request, they scanned the guard's stolen ID card, and held their breath. The screen flashed green, and they permitted themselves a breath of laughter and a congratulatory high five before returning to the task in hand.

Amelia worked fast, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she tried desperately to hack into and program this mad machine. And she was no hacker; there was a lot of trial and error, and several times she was afraid that she had tripped some sort of security protocol and that the soldiers would pour through the doors at any moment. But no one came, not all the time that she worked and Amy nervously stood guard.

"I think I've got it," Amelia said after what felt like hours. "What message do you want to send to your Doctor to get him here?"

Amy gave a tiny smile. "Come along, Ponds."

A smile crept across Amelia's face, and she typed in the message. "Okay, so the last thing we need to do is connect these two sets of wires, simultaneously. You take one pair, I'll take the other. Then the message will start going out across every possible universe until it reaches the right people. After that, we just have to get to the escape pods and hope the Doctor shows up in time."

"He will," Amy promised, gingerly taking a wire in each hand.

"On three," Amelia said. "One, two, three!"

They clipped the wires together, completing the circuits. Amelia was just about to give a cheer when Amy yelled and collapsed to the floor, her body wracked by spasms. A small plume of smoke rose from the wires she had connected, and then extinguished. Amelia knelt down beside Amy, reaching out to take her pulse when a small burst of electricity arced from Amy to her fingers, giving her a nasty shock. She shook her hand, and was about to try it again when she remembered Amy's warning that they should never touch.

Just then, the doors slid open and closed, and Amelia spun around, the gun in her hand. There in the doorway stood a young female soldier, with dark hair and a kind, round face, her hands in the air in surrender. Amelia stood there for a moment, expecting the soldier to make a move, or for more of them to come pouring in through the doors. But nothing happened. She just stood there, her hands raised.

"Do you know the Doctor?" the young soldier asked carefully, and it was the last question that Amelia had been expecting.

"I knew him," Amelia replied harshly.

"Then I want to help you," she replied.

Amelia was taken completely off guard, and she stared at the girl, dumbfounded. "Who are you?"

"Lorna Bucket," the girl replied. "Look, I met the Doctor once, and he was the best warrior I have ever seen. I swore I would help him. So let me help you now."

Amelia frowned, unsure that she could trust this young soldier. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she quickly weighed her options and realised that right now, she had few better choices.

"Help me by getting her to the escape pod bay," she said, making her decision. Lorna nodded and rushed over to Amy, checking that she was still alive before awkwardly lifting her onto her shoulder in a fireman's carry. Amelia didn't take her gun off her though, even as she reached down to pick up Amy's gun. Lorna hesitated. "Well go on, lead the way. And come up for a good excuse for if we're caught."

"Whatever excuse I have will be a lot more believable if you're not pointing a gun at me, Ma'am," Lorna said, and when Amelia still didn't lower her gun, she sighed. "It's not as if I can draw my own weapon while I'm carrying her."

"Fine," Amelia said, tucking the guns into the waistband of the white trousers she wore, and covering them with the long, loose white top. "Now go."

Lorna did as she was told, and Amelia keyed in the codes to open and then lock the doors again, following Lorna as she made her way down the corridors. They were careful not to be seen, waiting until each corridor was clear before they moved forwards.

"How far is it?" Amelia asked.

"We're nearly there," Lorna said, sounding more than a little out of breath.

Without warning, sirens started blaring, and warning lights flashed, casting a harsh and dangerous light all over the ship.

"Great," Amelia muttered. So they'd finally been missed. "Make it fast!" she told Lorna, and the girl went running down the next corridor, Amy's red hair flopping around as she was carried.

They almost completely gave up on subtlety from then on, just briefly checking each doorway and corridor before they went running down it. Unbelievably, they made it all the way to the escape pod bay, where the sirens and warning lights continued to blare.

"Get her into one of the pods," Amelia ordered as she turned to a control screen on the wall, and began typing commands into it to activate the reprogramming she'd done on the reality drive.

"She's in safely," Lorna reported. "Third one from the left there. I'll guard this end of the corridor."

Amelia looked at her sharply, surprised that she hadn't asked to come with them. The Doctor that she'd known must have done something very great for her to have this amount of respect for his friends. But then she knew that the Doctor was like that.

"Thank you," she said lowly, and Lorna gave her a brief salute before disappearing round the corner at the end of the corridor and taking up position there. Amelia resumed her frantic typing, praying that this was all going to work because really, honestly, she still wasn't sure that it would.

"Amelia Pond," a silky voice drawled. Without even looking for the owner of the voice, Amelia instantly took out one of her guns, bringing it to bear on Kovarian as she came around the corner. She waited for soldiers, but no one else came. It was just her and Kovarian. "Did you really think you could escape?"

"Still can," Amelia said calmly, tapping just one more key and starting a countdown on the little screen, and sending that message to the Doctor beaming out across all the Universes. "One minute and your reality drive is history."

Kovarian's one eye widened in surprised, her confidence wavering before she covered it up again with a snide smile as the sound of boots came clattering down the far end of the hall. But there was a round of gunfire, and the sounds of bodies dropping to the ground; Lorna was winning.

Kovarian's hand reached for her communicator, but Amelia cocked the trigger on her gun in warning, and Kovarian froze.

"I really wouldn't," Amelia said, her voice low and dangerous.

"You wouldn't kill me," Kovarian boasted in a harsh whisper, but there was a glimmer of fear in her eyes. "Because _he_ wouldn't."

Amelia's expression went stone cold. "Do you know what else he is, Madame Kovarian? _Not here_."

Kovarian realised her mistake then, and she closed her eyes against her inevitable fate. Amelia tightened her grip on the trigger.

"No!" Amy shouted, and Amelia froze. Amy stood, leaning heavily against the doorway of the escape pod, looking at Amelia and Kovarian. "Trust me, you don't want that on your hands."

Amelia turned to stare at her, and Kovarian seized her chance, punching Amelia in the jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground, her weapons clattering against the hard floor. There was a desperate scrabble for the gun, but Amelia was dazed and Kovarian was faster. She picked it up and levelled it at Amelia, her finger squeezing the trigger. But instead of a deafening gunshot, there was a flash of blinding light, and it was Kovarian who crumpled to the floor. Amelia turned to see Amy holding the stun gun, still leaning against the escape pod, her face white as a sheet.

"Come on!" Amy urged, pointing inside the escape pod.

Amelia hesitated, then picked up the gun, pointing it at the unconscious Kovarian.

"Amelia, no!" Amy cried. "Don't do this! Once we get out of here, there won't be anyone left in this Universe for her to hurt. She's not worth it," she pleaded, but still Amelia stood there. "Come on! You're better than this. The Doctor made you better than this."

Amelia turned and looked at her, frozen, and the pain in her eyes made Amy's heart break.

There was another round of gunfire from the other end of the corridor which made them both whirl around to face the noise, and then an awful scream. The gunfire continued even after Lorna Bucket's body had fallen to the ground.

They stared at her body for a moment, even though they only had seconds to act. Suddenly, the sirens grew even louder, and an automatic voice came over the loudspeakers.

"Reality drive failure. Two minutes until event horizon."

Finally, Amelia felt her body returning to life after the cold shock of what she'd been about to do. She ran into the escape pod, flinging herself into the pilot seat as Amy shut the door and locked it tight. Amelia slammed her fist into the bright red launch button on the console, and just like that, they were jettisoned out into space.

All was silent.

Amy and Amelia looked out of the window, waiting, waiting for the Doctor to arrive. And just when they thought they couldn't stand it anymore, a familiar blue box faded into sight.

"Geronimo!" the Doctor's voice shouted over the communications.

"Doctor!" they cried almost simultaneously, and there was a pause.

"Are...is there two of you?" Rory asked, and Amelia's hand flew to her mouth at the sound of his voice.

"Yeah, there's two of us," Amy replied. "Now how do I get to come and see your stupid face?"

The escape pod rocked suddenly, throwing them against the side.

"Sorry, sorry about that," the Doctor said. "I've caught your pod in the Tardis' atmospheric field, but I can't get any closer to you. You're going to have to jump."

"Jump?" Amelia echoed nervously.

"He'll catch you," River's voice promised over the speakers.

"Of course I will," the Doctor said. "Just open your airlock and jump. River, you stay with Ellinor. Rory, with me."

Amelia looked nervously to Amy, who nodded encouragingly. Amelia gave a single nod, and together they unscrewed the thick airlock door, and pushed it open. Between them and the Tardis was five metres of open space, but it looked like so much more.

The doors to the Tardis opened, and the Doctor's face smiled up at them, with Rory hovering behind him.

"I got your message, Ponds!" he called out, and Amy laughed. "Your turn to come along!"

Amy took a deep breath, and jumped out of the pod, using all of her strength to propel herself towards the open Tardis doors. She stretched out her hands towards Rory and the Doctor, terrified that she would somehow fall away from them. But an instant later, the Doctor caught her hands and pulled her in, with Rory catching her and preventing her from falling.

Rory looked at Amy closely. "Which one are you?"

"I'm your one, stupid," she replied, and Rory looked somewhat embarrassed. "I love you," she said, gazing up at Rory's adorable face before kissing him.

"I love you too," Rory said as they pulled away.

Amy flashed him a brilliant smile, and saw River over his shoulder, standing up by the console, as far away from the open doors as she could be, cradling Ellinor. Her heart felt as though it would explode with relief, and River gave her an assured smile.

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted.

Amy turned to see that Amelia was still clinging to the inside of the escape pod, frozen in place by fear. Amelia looked down and saw the Doctor staring at her, his hands outstretched towards her. But no matter how her heart wished it was, he simply wasn't _her_ Doctor. He looked like him and spoke like him, but he was somehow inherently different, and not hers.

A warning siren sounded from inside the Tardis.

"They're readying their weapons," River's voice came over the speakers, filling the escape pod. "They'll be firing at us in seconds!"

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted again. "You have to jump!"

Amy stared up at her from where she stood wrapped in Rory's arms.

"I can't!" Amelia's cry sounded strangled and consumed with fear.

"You have to!" the Doctor urged.

Amelia moved to jump, and then her resolve faltered and she clung to the escape pod still.

"You have to jump!" the Doctor shouted again, but she shook her head. "I will catch you, I promise. _Amelia, you have to trust me_."

Amelia's eyes locked onto the Doctor's, those deep, loving, wise, old mad eyes. Just like her Doctor's. She closed her own eyes, then jumped with all her might. She felt herself floating through space, and the sensation seemed to last for an eternity, and she was so afraid that she would just be lost to drift in space. But then she felt his warm hands brush against hers, and she slammed into him as the Tardis' gravity took hold of her. And he caught her. Finally, she opened her eyes, and stared up at him. He smiled down at her for a moment.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and they all turned to watch as Kovarian's ship was engulfed in blinding light, shielding their eyes from the worst of it but unable to completely look away. When the light receded, the ship looked utterly crippled.

"There goes the reality drive," Amelia murmured, and the Doctor looked down at her with pride.

But when he glanced at the ship again, to his horror he saw all of the gun turrets turning, pointing right towards them.

"Get us out of here, River!" the Doctor shouted, slamming the Tardis doors shut.

Almost instantly, there was a familiar screeching sound, and the Tardis disappeared just as the first guns fired.

There was silence in the Tardis as they all looked around at each other, not quite able to believe that they had pulled it off. Then both Amelia and Amy broke out in simultaneous shrieks of joy, with Amy kissing Rory and Amelia throwing her arms around the Doctor, who joined in for good measure. No sooner had Amelia released the Doctor than Amy was in his arms. Amelia suddenly looked a little lost. Rory glanced to Amy, and she nodded. To Amelia's surprise, Rory stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her head. Amelia was too stunned for words, and she fought to keep the tears back. Rory kissed her head once more, then gently pulled away a little as he saw River coming down the steps towards them, carefully cradling Ellinor.

Amy beamed and walked up to them, laying a hand on River's shoulder and looking down at Ellinor. She was fine, perfectly unharmed. Amy held a hand out to Amelia, who nervously stepped forwards to meet her.

"Amelia, this is River Song and Ellinor Pond," Amy said proudly. "Our daughters."

Amelia looked at River in awe, and gently embraced her before laying her hand on Ellinor's head. She gave a breath of disbelieving laughter, and tears once again clouded her vision.

"Wait," she said, looking at Amy as the other woman brushed away tears of her own. "How is she your daughter? She's older than you."

Amy laughed. "It's a really long story."

But it was one which was elaborately told, as soon as Amelia had changed out of the hospital clothes she'd been dressed in. Rory had brought both Amy and Amelia a mug of hot chocolate, their favourite, before they had all gathered around the console to tell the tale. Everyone had questions at some point in the tale, and they were answered as fully as possible. There were many tears shed, when they spoke of the deaths that Kovarian had caused in her attempts to possess a half Time Lord child. And when she told of Ellinor's death, both she and Amy were wracked with painful sobs; Amelia's for the loss of her only child, Amy's in sympathy and because of what had happened to River when Kovarian had succeeded.

Ellinor had cried too, even though the Doctor had relayed the fact that she was overjoyed to now have two mothers to hold her after one had been absent for so long.

"You did an amazing thing, you know," the Doctor said quietly to Amelia. "If you hadn't been able to do what you so brilliantly did to the reality drive, we might never have found you. The holes that it made are still there; that's how we were able to get to you. And it's how we'll be able to get you home, though I'm afraid we'll have to seal them up behind us to stop other people from falling through."

Amelia said nothing for a long time, just staring down at this other Ellinor, who was asleep in her arms, as real and as beautiful as her own baby had been.

"I can't stay with you, can I?" she asked quietly. "You're not _my_ Doctor, are you?"

The Doctor sighed. "No. I'm so sorry."

Amelia took a deep breath, closing her eyes against the tears as the Doctor wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Amy buried her face in Rory's shoulder as River stroked her arm consolingly, her eyes locking onto the Doctors, both of them filled with sorrow.

Late that night, when they had gone to their own room and Ellinor was asleep in the Doctor's crib by their bed, Amy lay cuddled against Rory. They spoke late into the night, and it was a discussion that was not without more tears, but finally, they reached their decision together. And when they spoke to them, River and the Doctor agreed, too.

The following morning, the Tardis landed on the Earth in Amelia's universe, in a quiet estate outside of Inverness in Scotland. Amelia's hometown. The Doctor had assured her that Kovarian would never be able to reach her again, now that she was trapped in her own universe with no reality drive.

The doors of the Tardis opened and they walked out into the morning sunlight to say goodbye to Amelia.

"I did a little shopping in the night," the Doctor said, dangling a set of keys in front of Amelia, and pointed to a beautiful house with a door painted Tardis blue. Amelia glanced at the keys, then at the house, then at the Doctor.

"The house?" she asked in disbelief.

"All yours, Amelia Pond," the Doctor said, placing the keys in her hand.

"Show me around?" she asked, and she and the Doctor dashed down the garden path before he opened the door for her. Amy followed, carrying Ellinor as Rory walked beside her, and River followed them.

It was an incredible house, all beautifully decorated and ready to move into. Three bedrooms, a back garden which overlooked the countryside, and which the Doctor promised would give her a brilliant view of the stars. There was a brand new car parked on the drive out the front, even food in the fridge.

"Thank you," Amelia whispered as they stood gathered in the living room. "So I guess this is good bye now."

The Doctor's eyes turned sad. "Yes it is. I'm sorry."

Amelia tackled him with a bear hug. "Don't be. Thank you for everything, Doctor."

She released him and he smiled at her as she moved towards Rory. There were no words, so he wrapped her in a tender embrace, and softly kissed her head, squeezing her hand briefly as she let go and turned towards River.

"I wish I could have known you," Amelia said.

River met her in a gentle hug. "I'm just trouble."

Amelia gave a breath of laughter in spite of the situation, and River nodded to her as she backed away, turning to face Amy. They knew they still shouldn't touch, so instead they raised their hands until they were almost meeting, just as they had done when they first met.

Amelia looked down at Ellinor, and Amy's breath caught. She looked up at Rory, who nodded his consent once more, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Being ever so careful not to touch, she laid Ellinor in Amelia's arms.

Amelia blinked back tears as she opened her mouth to start saying her goodbyes, but Amy spoke first.

"You're not the one saying goodbye to Ellinor," Amy said, stroking the baby's head before backing away.

"What?" Amelia whispered.

"It's not fair that you should loose so much and that I should keep it all, even the daughter I never had," Amy said, her voice breaking.

Rory wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, then he spoke to Amelia. "We've agreed that you should be the one to raise her."

Amelia looked at each of them in turn; both River and the Doctor nodded their agreement.

"Amy spoke to us last night," the Doctor said softly. "We all think - if you want to – that it's the right thing to do."

Amelia hesitated. "What does Ellinor think?"

The Doctor smiled, just a little as Ellinor murmured. "She's calling you her mother. Saying that she loves you."

A gasp of joy escaped Amelia as tears sprung to her eyes. "You're all sure?"

There was not a single voice of dissent.

They said goodbye, with River having just enough time to teach Amelia the briefest of Gallifreyan lullabies.

"Good luck, Ponds," the Doctor said, waving little Ellinor's foot.

Rory took her hand, and her tiny fingers curled around his as he whispered goodbye. Amy kissed her hair, and smiled bravely for Amelia, who could find no more words for her thanks, but it was written there in her eyes.

They left the house, and Amelia stood in the front garden to see them off as River, the Doctor, Rory and finally Amy walked through the Tardis doors. Rory and Amy looked back, and Amelia took Ellinor's little hand and helped her wave to them. Amy waved back as the doors to the Tardis were closed, and her heart felt like it was breaking. She buried her face in Rory's chest, and felt him shake as he cried too.

"It was the right thing to do," Rory murmured.

"I know. She'll be safer here than she ever could be with us."

Up by the console, River slipped her hand into the Doctor's as he brushed a tear from her cheek. He kissed her softly, before smiling brightly down at her. She smiled back, taking a deep breath.

"Right then, Ponds!" the Doctor exclaimed, leaning over the banister to see Rory and Amy release their embrace. "Off to adventures new?"

Amy wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"You bet," she said bravely, snatching Rory's hand as they ran up to the console. The Doctor flashed a mad grin and flipped levers and turned dials, sending them hurtling once again through time and space. River laughed and adjusted their course, and he playfully swotted at her. The Tardis lurched, making Amy and Rory grab onto the console for balance. For a moment, Amy's face fell again, but Rory laid his hand over hers and squeezed it tight. Amy squeezed back, meeting his brave eyes with hers.

And they were off, to adventures new.


End file.
